State v. Burke

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that nearly all statements made by a sexual-assault patient to a sexual assault nurse examiner were nontestimonial because their primary purpose was to guide medical care rather than create an out-of-court substitute for trial testimony. The court also held that the statements generally fell within the hearsay exception for statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment, while one statement describing the assailant was improperly admitted. The error was harmless, and the court reversed the Court of Appeals.

Holdings

1. Nearly all of K.E.H.'s statements to the sexual assault nurse examiner were nontestimonial because their primary purpose was to guide medical care rather than create an out-of-court substitute for trial testimony.
2. K.E.H.'s statement describing the assailant's appearance and clothing was testimonial because its primary purpose was to identify the person who could be prosecuted, not to guide medical treatment.
3. Admission of the testimonial assailant-description statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
4. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting most of K.E.H.'s statements as statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment, but it abused its discretion in admitting the assailant-description statement under that exception.
5. The judgment and sentence had to be amended to strike the $200 criminal filing fee and $100 DNA collection fee and to provide that interest would not accrue on nonrestitution legal financial obligations after June 7, 2018.

Questions Presented

1. Whether statements made by a sexual assault patient to a sexual assault nurse examiner were testimonial under the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause.
2. Whether the statements qualified under Washington Evidence Rule 803(a)(4) as statements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment.
3. Whether admission of the testimonial assailant-description statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
4. Whether Burke's $200 criminal filing fee, $100 DNA collection fee, and interest provisions had to be stricken under later amendments governing legal financial obligations.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded