State v. Ohlson

168 P.3d 1273, 162 Wash. 2d 1
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 18, 2007
DocketNo. 78238-5
StatusPublished
Cited by52 cases

This text of 168 P.3d 1273 (State v. Ohlson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Ohlson, 168 P.3d 1273, 162 Wash. 2d 1 (Wash. 2007).

Opinions

¶1

Fairhurst, J.

James Douglas Ohlson was convicted of two counts of assault in the second degree following a [5]*5jury trial at which one victim, L.F., testified and the other victim, D.L., did not. Ohlson appeals his conviction on the grounds that D.L.’s out-of-court statements were improperly admitted as excited utterances and that admitting the statements violated Ohlson’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting D.L.’s statements as excited utterances. While we reject the Court of Appeals’ per se rule that excited utterances can never be testimonial, we hold, under the facts presented here, that D.L.’s statements were nontestimonial and thus their admission did not violate Ohlson’s right to confrontation under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S. Ct. 1354, 158 L. Ed. 2d 177 (2004) and Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813, 126 S. Ct. 2266, 165 L. Ed. 2d 224 (2006). We affirm the Court of Appeals in part and reverse in part.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2 On April 16, 2004, two minors, L.F. and D.L., were standing on the sidewalk near the entrance to Lion’s Field in Bremerton, Washington, waiting for their mothers to pick them up. L.F. testified that as she and D.L. were waiting, Ohlson drove by them, yelling racial slurs at them and making obscene gestures. Ohlson turned around and drove past them again, speeding and braking while continuing to yell racial slurs and make obscene gestures. Ohlson then drove out of sight and was gone for approximately five minutes.

¶3 When Ohlson returned, L.F. and D.L. were still on the sidewalk. L.F. testified that Ohlson drove toward them, over the curb, and onto the sidewalk where they were standing, causing the two of them to “jump out of the way.” 1 Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) at 66. D.L. said, “ ‘look out,’ ” and L.F. turned to see Ohlson’s car very close to them, before they jumped out of its way. 1 VRP at 68. L.F. described Ohlson as “tr lying] to run us over,” going “really fast . . . like 45 [miles per hour],” and she stated that she [6]*6was scared. 1 VRP at 66, 67. Robert Klose, an eyewitness standing across the street, testified that he saw Ohlson driving up onto the sidewalk toward L.F. and D.L., who had to jump out of the way. Klose testified he yelled, “ ‘[h]ey, that guy tried to hit you.’ ” 2 VRP at 112.

¶4 L.F. called 911. Bremerton Police Officer Crystal Gray received the report of “a vehicle speeding . . . trying to hit some juveniles” and made an emergency response using lights and siren. 1 VRP at 90. She arrived at the scene within five minutes of the call. Officer Gray testified that L.F. and D.L. were “pretty upset” and “pretty shaken up.” 1 VRP at 91. At that point in Officer Gray’s testimony, Ohlson made an objection to the admission of D.L.’s out-of-court statements, which the trial court overruled.

¶5 Officer Gray then testified that L.F. and D.L. told her that while they were standing on the sidewalk waiting for a ride,

a vehicle . . . had gone by and flipped them off and, I quote “called them [racial slurs]” and sped off. The vehicle then came back around and actually swerved up on to the curb trying to hit them. . . . They had to literally jump out of the way so that they were not hit. This continued, they said, at least four times, where the car went back and forth in front of them, calling them racial names.

1 VRP at 92-93. A second Bremerton police officer also made an emergency response to L.F.’s 911 call, arriving after Officer Gray. That officer drove around in the immediate area looking for the suspect vehicle while Officer Gray made initial inquiries of L.F. and D.L.

¶6 Ohlson was arrested at his home several hours after the incident. The arresting officer testified that Ohlson admitted to yelling racial slurs and making gestures at L.F. and D.L. while driving past them multiple times, as well as to driving “kind of recklessly to scare [L.F. and D.L.],” at one point coming within “about five feet from [D.L.].” 1 VRP at 84-85. Ohlson also testified at trial. He admitted to using racial slurs but stated that he had not intended to scare L.F. [7]*7and D.L. Rather, Ohlson explained, he was in a “fit of rage” because he had lied to his wife about using drugs. 2 VRP at 124.

¶7 The jury found Ohlson guilty of two counts of assault in the second degree and not guilty of malicious harassment. Ohlson appealed his conviction on multiple grounds, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. State v. Ohlson, 131 Wn. App. 71, 125 P.3d 990 (2005). In the published portion of its opinion, the court upheld the trial court’s admission of D.L.’s out-of-court statements as excited utterances. Id. at 78, ¶ 19. Additionally, in adopting a per se rule that excited utterances cannot be testimonial under Crawford, the court rejected Ohlson’s claim that his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation was violated by the admission of D.L.’s statements. Id. at 79-84, ¶¶ 20-38. We granted Ohlson’s petition for review on the excited utterance and confrontation clause issues. State v. Ohlson, 158 Wn.2d 1001, 143 P.3d 828 (2006).

II. ISSUES

A. Did the trial court abuse its discretion by admitting as excited utterances D.L.’s statements to Officer Gray?

B. Was Ohlson’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation violated by admitting D.L.’s out-of-court statements?

III. ANALYSIS

A. Excited utterance

¶8 Ohlson contends that the trial court erred when it admitted as excited utterances D.L.’s out-of-court statements to Officer Gray. Ohlson argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that D.L. perceived a startling event and spoke under the stress of excitement of that event, two of the requirements of ER 803(a)(2), the excited utterance exception. We disagree.

¶9 This court reviews for abuse of discretion a trial court’s decision to admit a hearsay statement as an excited [8]*8utterance. State v. Woods, 143 Wn.2d 561, 597, 23 P.3d 1046 (2001); State v. Strauss, 119 Wn.2d 401, 417, 832 P.2d 78 (1992). We will not reverse the trial court’s decision “unless we believe that no reasonable judge would have made the same ruling.” Woods, 143 Wn.2d at 595-96.

¶10 ER 803(a)(2) provides that a statement is not excluded as hearsay if it is an excited utterance “relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event or condition.” The excited utterance exception does not require a showing that the declarant is unavailable as a witness. State v. Chapin, 118 Wn.2d 681, 686, 826 P.2d 194 (1992).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
168 P.3d 1273, 162 Wash. 2d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ohlson-wash-2007.