IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 77071-3-I Respondent, ) ) DIVISION ONE v. ) JOSEPH M. ELDRIDGE, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION Appellant. ) FILED: June 3, 2019
SMITH, J. — Joseph Eldridge appeals his conviction for fourth degree
assault—domestic violence against his wife, R.E., who did not testify at trial. He
argues both that the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation right
by admitting R.E.’s statements to a police officer describing the assault and that
defense counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the statements on
confrontation grounds. Because Eldridge’s counsel did not object to the
statements on confrontation grounds, we hold that Eldridge waived his right to
challenge their admission on appeal. But we agree that defense counsel’s failure
to object on confrontation grounds was deficient because such an objection
would likely have been sustained by the trial court. And Eldridge was prejudiced
by counsel’s failure to object because R.E.’s statements were the only evidence
presented that Eldridge committed the assault. Therefore, we hold that defense
counsel was ineffective and we reverse and remand for a new trial. No. 77071-3-1/2
FACTS On February 5, 2015, someone called 911 from the Eldridge home and
hung up. The 911 operator called back, but the person who answered hung up
again. Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputy Arthur Wallin arrived to the house
“within a couple minutes” of the 911 call. As he walked up to the house, he
observed R.E., who was holding some papers, come out of the garage and
approach a car in the driveway. R.E. was “upset,” “[a]ppeared to be crying or
recently crying” and was “visibly shaking.” Deputy Wallin asked R.E. “what had
happened” and she responded, “[hje did this to me.” Deputy Wallin then “[h]ad
a conversation with” R.E. in which she explained that she and Eldridge got into
an argument about the papers she was holding, an altercation occurred, she
attempted to call 911, and Eld ridge took the phone away from her. Deputy Wallin
observed a red mark on R.E.’s chest and took photographs of her injury. Deputy
Wallin asked the dispatcher to attempt to locate Eldridge, who R.E~ believed was
driving to work on Interstate 405. Deputy WaIlin did not call a medic. R.E.
completed and signed a witness statement under penalty of perjury.
The State charged Eldridge with one count of fourth degree assault—
domestic violence and one count of interfering with domestic violence reporting.
R.E. did not testify at trial, but Deputy Wallin testified as to the above facts.
Defense counsel objected to Deputy Wallin’s account of R.E.’s statements on
hearsay grounds, but the district court admitted the testimony under the excited
utterance exception.
2 No. 77071-3-1/3
A jury found Eldridge guilty of assault—domestic violence and not guilty of
interfering with domestic violence reporting.
Eldridge appealed his conviction to the Snohomish County Superior Court,
arguing that the district court violated his confrontation rights by admitting RE’s
statements. The superior court affirmed the conviction, and we granted
discretionary review.
ADMISSION OF OUT-OF-COURT STATEMENTS
Eldridge argues that the admission of R.E.’s out-of-court statements
violated his federal and state constitutional right to confrontation, even if the trial
court properly admitted them as a hearsay exception. But because he did not
object to the admission of those statements on confrontation grounds at trial, he
waived any challenge to their admission on appeal.
Under the Sixth Amendment, a defendant has the right “to be confronted
with the witnesses against him.” U.S. C0NsT. amend. VI. Article I, section 22 of
the Washington State Constitution similarly guarantees a defendant the right to
“to meet the witnesses against him face to face.” But a defendant waives these
rights by not objecting at trial. State v. Burns, — Wn.2d ~, 438 P.3d 1183,
1190 (201 9). RAP 2.5(a)(3) allows a defendant to raise a “manifest error
affecting a constitutional right” for the first time on appeal. But the Washington
Supreme Court has held that in the context of a confrontation clause violation,
“[w]here a defendant does not object at trial, ‘nothing the trial court does or fails
to do is a denial of the right, and if there is no denial of a right, there is no error
by the trial court, manifest or otherwise, that an appellate court can review.”
3 No. 77071-3-1/4
Burns, 438 P.2d at 1193 (quoting State v. Fraser, 170 Wn. App. 13, 25-26, 282
P.3d 152 (2012)).
Here, Eldridge did not object to the admission of R.E.’s statements on
confrontation grounds, only on hearsay grounds. Therefore, he waived his right
to challenge the admission of those statements on appeal based on the
confrontation clause.
INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL
Eldridge argues that defense counsel was ineffective in failing to object to
the admission of R.E.’s statements on confrontation grounds because those
statements violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation right. We agree.1
To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant
must show that his counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficient
performance prejudiced him. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104
S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984); State v. McFarland, 127 Wn.2d 322, 334-
35, 899 P.2d 1251 (1995). “Only in egregious circumstances, on testimony
central to the State’s case, will the failure to object constitute incompetence of
counsel justifying reversal.” State v. Madison, 53 Wn. App. 754, 763, 770 P.2d
662 (1989). We review claims of ineffective assistance of counsel de novo.
State v. Estes, 188 Wn.2d 450, 457, 395 P.3d 1045 (2017).
Here, defense counsel’s failure to object to the admission of R.E.’s
statements on confrontation grounds was both deficient and prejudicial.
I Based on this conclusion, we need not address Eldridge’s argument that the admission of R.E.’s statements also violated article I, section 22 of the Washington State Constitution. 4 No. 77071-3-1/5
Deficient Performance
Eldridge argues that defense counsel’s performance was deficient
because an objection to R.E.’s statements would likely have been sustained. We
hold that R.E.’s initial statement that “‘[hje did this to me” was nontestimonial and
therefore an objection on confrontation grounds would have failed. But, we
agree with Eld ridge that an objection to R.E.’s remaining statements would likely
have been sustained because the statements were testimonial and inadmissible
under the Sixth Amendment.
“Performance is deficient if it falls ‘below an objective standard of
reasonableness based on consideration of all the circumstances.” Estes, 188
Wn.2d at 458 (quoting McFarland, 127 Wn.2d at 334-35). We indulge a strong
presumption that counsel’s representation was reasonable and that performance
is not deficient if counsel’s conduct can be characterized as legitimate trial
strategy or tactics. Estes, 188 Wn.2d at 458. “Where a claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel rests on trial counsel’s failure to object, a defendant must
show that an objection would likely have been sustained.” State v. Fortun
Cebada, 158 Wn. App. 158, 172, 241 P.3d 800 (2010). “[T]here is no
ineffectiveness if a challenge to admissibility of evidence would have failed.”
Statev. Nichols, 161 Wn.2d 1, 14-15, 162 P.3d 1122 (2007).
Under the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause, “testimonial” hearsay
is inadmissible in criminal trials unless the declarant is “unavailable to testify, and
the defendant had . . . a prior opportunity for cross-examination.” Crawford v.
Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 53-54, 124 S. Ct. 1354, 158 L. Ed. 2d 177 (2004).
5 No. 77071-3-1/6
Here, the State does not dispute that R.E. was available to testify and that
Eldridge had no prior opportunity to cross-examine her. Therefore, the issue on
appeal is whether the trial court likely would have excluded R.E.’s statements as
inadmissible “testimonial” hearsay had defense counsel objected on that ground.
In Crawford, the United States Supreme Court defined “testimony” as “[a]
solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving
some fact.” Crawford, 541 U.S. at 51 (alteration in original) (quoting 2 N.
Webster, AN AMERICAN DIcTIoNARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (1828)). Even so,
the Court expressly declined to expand on what statements are considered
“testimonial.” Crawford, 541 U.S. at 68. In Davis v. Washington, the Court
addressed this uncertainty by creating the “primary purpose” test. 547 U.S. 813,
822, 126 S. Ct. 2266, 165 L. Ed. 2d 224 (2006). That test distinguishes between
testimonial and nontestimonial witness statements by assessing whether the
primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police to address an ongoing
emergency or to establish past criminal events:
Statements are nontestimonial when made in the course of police interrogation under circumstances objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency. They are testimonial when the circumstances objectively indicate that there is no such ongoing emergency, and that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to establish or prove past events potentially relevant to later criminal prosecution.
Davis, 547 U.S. at 822. The primary purpose of an interrogation may at first be
to determine the need for emergency assistance but evolve into one designed to
establish past events once the officer determines the emergency has ended.
Davis, 547 U.S. at 828. To that end, whether an ongoing emergency exists at
6 No. 77071-3-1/7
the time a statement is made is determined by an objective evaluation of “the
circumstances in which the encounter occurs and the statements and actions of
the parties.” Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. 344, 359, 131 S. Ct. 1143, 179 L. Ed.
2d 93(2011).
In determining the primary purpose of an interrogation, “the relevant
inquiry is not the subjective or actual purpose of the individuals involved in a
particular encounter, but rather the purpose that reasonable participants would
have had, as ascertained from the individuals’ statements and actions and the
circumstances in which the encounter occurred.” Bryant, 562 U.S. at 360. In
other words, admissibility depends on whether “in light of all the circumstances,
viewed objectively, the ‘primary purpose’ of the conversation was to ‘creat[e] an
out-of-court substitute for trial testimony.” Ohio v. Clark, — U.S.—’ 135 S. Ct.
2173, 2180, 192 L. Ed. 2d 306 (2015) (alteration in original) (quoting Bryant, 562
U.S. at 358).
Two United States Supreme Court cases are instructive here: Davis and
Bryant. In Davis, the Court examined two state court convictions: State v. Davis,
154 Wn.2d 291, 111 P.3d 844 (2005), afrd, 547 U.S. 813, 126 S. Ct. 2266, 1965
L. Ed. 2d 224 (2006), and Hammon v. State, 829 N.E.2d 444 (Ind. 2005), rev’d,
547 U.S. 813, 126 S. Ct. 2266, 1965 L. Ed. 2d 224 (2006), and came to opposite
conclusions. The Court first discussed Davis, where Michelle McCottry called
911 and told the operator that her ex-boyfriend, Adrian Davis, had just assaulted
her. Davis, 547 U.S. at 817. Shortly thereafter, McCottry told the operator that
Davis was leaving. Davis, 547 U.S. at 818. Four minutes later, officers arrived at
7 • No. 77071-3-118
McCottry’s house and found her shaken and preparing to leave. Davis, 547 u.s. at 818. At Davis’s trial for felony violation of a domestic no-contact order,
McCottry did not testify, but the court admitted her 911 call over Davis’s
objection. Davis, 547 U.S. at 818-19. A jury convicted Davis, and he appealed.
Davis, 547 U.S. at 819. The United States Supreme Court affirmed, holding that
McCottry’s statements during the 911 call were nontestimonial and therefore
admissible. Davis, 547 U.S. at 828, 834. The Court concluded that McCottry
made her statements for the primary purpose of obtaining police assistance to
deal with an ongoing emergency rather than to establish the facts of a past
crime. Davis, 547 U.S. at 826-29. The Court reached its conclusion by
considering four factors. First, McCottry described events during the phone call
as they were happening, rather than some time after the fact. Davis, 547 u.s. at 827. Second, the Court determined that any objective listener would understand
that McCottry faced a real and ongoing emergency because Davis posed an
immediate and “bona fide physical threat” to McCottry. Davis, 547 U.S. at 827,
831. Third, the Court held that the questions the 911 operator asked, including
those necessary to determine Davis’s identity and to evaluate the threat that he
posed, were necessary to resolve the emergency. Davis, 547 U.S. at 827.
Finally, the Court held that the informality of McCottry’s interaction with the 911
operator (a frantic call over the phone in an unsafe environment) indicated she
was not making testimonial statements. Davis, 547 U.S. at 827.
In contrast, in the Hammon case, the United States Supreme Court
determined that the primary purpose of the out-of-court statements at issue was
8 No. 77071-3-1/9
to establish the facts of a past crime. There, police responded to a domestic
violence call and found Hershel Hammon’s wife sitting on her porch. Davis, 547
U.S. at 819. She appeared frightened, but told the police that “nothing was the
matter.” Davis, 547 U.S. at 819 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting
Hammon, 829 N.E2d at 447). Hammon’s wife gave the police permission to
enter the house, where they saw a broken heater surrounded by pieces of glass.
Davis, 547 U.S. at 819. The police then questioned her in the living room while
Hammon was in the kitchen. Davis, 547 U.S. at 819. Hammon told the officers
what happened and then filled out and signed a battery affidavit, which stated
that her husband had broken the heater and then shoved her into the pieces of
glass, beat her, attacked her daughter, and destroyed some of her property.
Davis, 547 U.S. at 820. The State charged Hammon with domestic battery and
violating his probation. Davis, 547 U.S. at 820. At trial, Hammon’s wife did not
appear and the court admitted an officer’s testimony as to her statements to him
over defense counsel’s objections. Davis, 547 U.S. at 820. A judge convicted
Hammon on both charges. Davis, 547 U.S. at 821. Hammon appealed, and the
United States Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding his wife’s
statements were testimonial and inadmissible. Davis, 547 U.S. at 821, 830, 834.
First, there was no ongoing emergency because the police heard no one arguing
or breaking things and Hammon’s wife confirmed there was no immediate threat
when she initially said that “things were fine.” Davis, 547 U.S. at 829-30.
Second, the officers’ questions sought to determine “what happened,” not “what
is happening.” Davis, 547 U.S. at 830 (emphasis added). Finally, Hammon’s
9 No. 77071-3-1110
wife’s interaction with officers was “formal enough.” Davis, 547 U.S. at 830.
They separated her from her husband and used her responses, which described
“how potentially criminal past events began and progressed,” in their
“investigat[ion].” Davis, 547 U.S. at 830 (alteration in original).
Finally, in Bryant, police asked Anthony Covington, a man dying from a
gunshot wound at a gas station, “what had happened, who had shot him, and
where the shooting had occurred.” Bryant, 562 U.S. at 349 (quoting People v.
Bryant, 483 Mich. 132, 143, 768 N.W. 2d 65 (2009)). Covington told them that
about half-an-hour earlier, he spoke with Bryant through the back door to
Bryant’s house. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 349. When Covington turned to leave,
Bryant shot Covington through the door and Covington then drove to the gas
station. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 349. After emergency medical services arrived to
treat Covington, police went to Bryant’s house and found blood, a bullet, a bullet
hole in the door, and Covington’s wallet. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 349-50. A jury
convicted Bryant of murder and other firearm charges after the police officers
testified about Covington’s statements. The Michigan Supreme Court eventually
reversed his convictions. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 350. The United States Supreme
Court vacated and remanded the Michigan court’s decision, holding Covington’s
statements were nontestimonial and Bryant’s conviction should stand. Bryant,
562 U.S. at 348-49. Applying Davis, the Court noted that although Bryant shot
Covington more than 25 minutes before police interrogated Covington, Bryant
remained at large while Covington spoke to the police. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 376-
77. Given Bryant’s unknown location and Covington’s medical condition, the
10 No. 77071-3-I/li
Court concluded that any objective listener would realize that Covington faced an
ongoing emergency when he spoke to the police. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 375.
Furthermore, the police officers’ questions “were the exact type of questions
necessary” to assess the existing threats to their own safety and Covington’s
safety. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 376. Finally, the Court noted that Covington’s
interaction with police, occurring in a fluid and confused scene and in an
unstructured way, lacked the formality associated with testimony. Bryant, 562
u.s. at 377. The Washington Supreme Court has drawn from Davis four factors to
determine whether the “primary purpose” of a police interrogation is to enable
assistance to meet an ongoing emergency:
(1) Was the speaker speaking about current events as they were actually occurring, requiring police assistance, or was he or she describing past events? (2) Would a “reasonable listener” . . .
conclude that the speaker was facing an ongoing emergency that required help? (3) What was the nature of what was asked and . . .
answered? . [and] (4) What was the level of formality of the . .
interrogation?
State v. Koslowski, 166 Wn.2d 409, 418-1 9, 209 P.3d 479 (2009). Applying the
Davis factors to this record, we hold that R.E.’s initial statement to Deputy Wallin
that “[h]e did this to me” was nontestimonial and, therefore, admissible. But we
also hold that R.E.’s subsequent statements identifying Eldridge and describing
the assault were testimonial and that had defense counsel objected on
confrontation grounds, the trial court hkely would have sustained the objection.
Under the first Davis factor, it is more likely that the primary purpose of a
police interrogation is to respond to an ongoing emergency if the witness is
ii No. 77071-3-1/12
narrating ongoing events rather than past events. Here, unlike the statements to
the 911 operator in Davis, all of R.E.’s statement to Deputy Wallin, including her
statement that “‘[hje did this to me,” described past events, not ongoing ones.
As a result, this interrogation is more akin to Hammon’s wife’s interrogation.
The second Davis factor considers whether an objective listener would
recognize that the witness faced an ongoing emergency and, if so, the
statements are more likely to be nontestimonial. This evaluation “is a highly
context-dependent inquiry.” Bryant, 562 U.S. at 363. Here, an objective listener
would recognize that RE. faced an ongoing emergency when she first spoke to
Deputy Wallin. Specifically, Deputy Wallin explained at trial that police officers
responding to a 911 hang-up call do not know what to expect upon arrival. The
call may turn out to be nothing, but it may also occur during the course of a
serious crime. Here, Deputy Wallin did not have any information about what
prompted the 911 call or whether there was a continuing threat at the residence.
He approached the house and saw R.E. come out of the garage upset, crying,
and shaking. Therefore, a reasonable listener would conclude when Deputy
Wallin asked R.E. “what had happened,” he was trying to ascertain whether there
was an ongoing emergency that required help.
The record does not include the exact timeline of the interrogation, after
this initial exchange. Rather, Deputy Wallin testified in very general terms that he
and R.E. “[h]ad a conversation” in which he learned that Eldridge pushed R.E.
against the fridge or the wall and caused a red mark on her chest. Deputy Wallin
did not testify that RE. expressed any fear that Ed ridge was still in the residence
12 No. 77071-3-1/13
or that Eldridge would return. He also did not testify that R.E. appeared to need
medical assistance or requested it. At some point in the conversation, RE. told
Deputy Wallin that she believed Eldridge was driving to work on Interstate 405.
Given this limited record, a reasonable listener would conclude that because R.E.
did not request assistance or need medical attention and because Eld ridge was
no longer at the home or posing a current threat to R.E., there was no longer an
ongoing emergency.
The third Davis factor considers whether the questions asked and the
witness’s responses were necessary to resolve an ongoing emergency. If so, the
responses are likely nontestimonial. The fact that police ask about the identity of
the perpetrator or the facts of the crime does not necessarily make the witness’s
answers testimonial. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 376; Davis, 547 U.S. at 827. Rather,
questions intended to allow the police to “assess the situation and the threat to
the safety of the victim and themselves” may elicit nontestimonial answers.
Koslowski, 166 Wn.2d at 425-26. Here, when Deputy Wallin asked RE. what
happened and she responded, “‘[h]e did this to me,” this question and answer
were objectively necessary to resolve an emergency and were not merely
intended to determine what happened in the past.
But, even though the record is limited, it indicates that at some point, R.E.
and Deputy Wallin’s conversation shifted from identifying whether there was an
ongoing emergency to documenting past events. During the conversation, R.E.
identified Eldridge as the “he” who assaulted her and indicated that Eldridge was
not at the house. But Deputy Wallin also took pictures of R.E.’s injuries and the
13 No. 77071-3-1/14
documents she was holding and collected a written statement from her, which
she signed under penalty of perjury. At oral argument, the State conceded that
by the time the pictures and statement were collected, and possibly even before
that, the primary purpose of the questions and responses shifted from
responding to an ongoing emergency to documenting past events constituting a
crime. While we need not decide exactly when the interrogation changed from
nontestimonial to testimonial, we reject the State’s contention that all facts
describing the who, what, and when elements of the assault are by their nature
nontestimonial because they are typically asked by 911 operators and first
responders. See Davis, 547 U.S. at 832 (rejecting an implication that “virtually
any ‘initial inquiries’ at the crime scene will not be testimonial”). Police officers
soliciting testimonial statements from a witness also ask who, what, and when
questions.
The final Davis factor considers the formality of the speaker’s interactions
with the police: the less formal the interaction, the more likely the statements are
nontestimonial. The location of the interrogation, whether the speaker was
questioned in the presence of others, and whether the speaker “deliberately
recounted . . . how potentially criminal past events began and progressed” all
inform the level of formality present. Davis, 547 U.S. at 830. Here, the
conversation between R.E. and Deputy Wallin was not as formal as the station
house interview in Crawford. But neither did it involve a “harried 911 call” as in
Davis, or the “somewhat confused” and “[unjstructured interrogation” that
occurred in Bryant. Bryant, 562 U.S. at 377. The interrogation occurred in the
14 No. 77071-3-1/15
driveway, when R.E. was alone with Deputy Wallin, and there was no indication
that R.E. was in any danger. Additionally, Deputy Wallin collected photographs
and a signed statement from R.E. during the interrogation. Like the interrogation
in Hammon’s case, R.E.’s conversation with Deputy Wallin was “formal enough.”
Davis, 547 U.S. at 830.
In conclusion, considering the Davis factors, we hold that R.E.’s first
statement to Deputy Wallin that “‘[h]e did this to me” was nontestimon Ia!
because the primary purpose of the exchange was to allow Deputy Wallin to
respond to an ongoing emergency. Any objection to this statement on
confrontation grounds likely would not have been sustained and defense counsel
was not deficient in failing to object on that basis.
But the limited record on appeal does not support a conclusion that the
primary purpose of R.E.’s statements in the remainder of the conversation was to
respond to an ongoing emergency. The State bears the burden at trial of
establishing that statements are nontestimonial. State v. Hurtado, 173 Wn. App.
592, 600, 294 P.3d 838 (2013). Here, there is no indication that an objective
listener would have recognized that R.E. faced an ongoing emergency after her
initial exchange with Deputy Wallin or that the remainder of her conversation with
Deputy Wallin was necessary to resolve such an emergency. Furthermore,
R.E.’s statements described past events and the interrogation was more formal
than informal. Therefore, the statements in the rest of the conversation were
testimonial and their admission violated the confrontation clause. For that
reason, we conclude that had defense counsel objected, the trial court likely
15 No. 77071-3-1/16
would have sustained an objection on this record. Additionally, defense counsel
tried to exclude the statements on hearsay grounds, so his failure to object on
confrontation grounds cannot be characterized as legitimate trial strategy or
tactics. For these reasons, defense counsel’s performance was deficient in
failing to object to all but the first of R.E.’s statements to Deputy Wallin.
Prejudice
Eldridge argues that his counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced him.
We agree.
To establish prejudice, a defendant must show that there is a reasonable
probability that the result of the trial would have been different absent the
challenged conduct. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694. Here, R.E.’s statements to
Deputy Wallin identifying Eldridge and describing the circumstances of the
assault were the only evidence presented at trial that Eldridge committed assault.
Therefore, there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have acquitted
Eldridge without that evidence. Eldridge has established prejudice.
We reverse and remand for a new trial.
WE CONCUR: