State v. DeShaun P. Wilson

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a governmental map prepared and adopted under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(e) is nontestimonial, so its admission does not violate the Confrontation Clause. The map is hearsay but may be admissible as a public record or under the statute if properly authenticated. Because the State failed to provide adequate authentication, the court reversed the conviction on the drug-free-zone count and remanded for a new trial on that count.

Holdings

1. Wilson timely and adequately preserved his Confrontation Clause challenge by objecting when the State sought admission of the map and asserting that the foundation and testimony concerning the map were inadequate; he was not required to use the words 'Confrontation Clause,' 'Sixth Amendment,' or 'Crawford.'
2. A map commissioned and adopted by a governmental entity under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(e) is nontestimonial because it reports an objective, present geographic measurement, does not require independent interpretation of raw data, was not created in response to a particular criminal event, and does not target a particular defendant.
3. The map was hearsay and could be admitted under N.J.R.E. 803(c)(8) or N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(e) only upon proper authentication. Proper authentication required a witness able to testify to the map's authenticity and be cross-examined about the methodology used to create it and its margin of error.
4. Because the map was the State's sole evidence that the alleged drug transaction occurred within 500 feet of Leggett Park and it was inadmissible for lack of proper authentication, the State failed to prove an essential element of the N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(a) offense.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Wilson timely and adequately preserved his Confrontation Clause objection to admission of the map.
2. Whether a governmental map prepared and adopted under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(e) is testimonial under the Sixth Amendment and analogous New Jersey constitutional provision.
3. Whether the map was admissible under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(e) or the public-records exception to hearsay without testimony from a witness qualified to authenticate the map and explain its methodology and margin of error.
4. Whether the State presented competent evidence of the essential 500-foot-location element of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1(a).

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded