Supreme Court of California

A conviction for first degree murder is affirmed over a claim of erroneous admission of evidence where, under the doctrine of "forfeiture by wrongdoing," defendant forfeited his confrontation clause challenge to the victim's prior out-of-court statements to the police. A preponderance of the evidence standard for applying the doctrine is constitutionally sufficient under the confrontation clause.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/05/2007
• Published 03/05/2007

Judges

• CHIN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Marilyn G. Burkhardt, under appointment by the Supreme Court, West Los Angeles, for Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Lawrence M. Daniels, Kristofer Jorstad,Susan D. Martynec, Joseph P. Lee and Russell A. Lehman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent., Nancy K.D. Lemon and Timna A. Sites, for California Partnership to End Domestic Violence as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Respondent., Douglas Beloof, Margaret Garvin, Kim Montagriff, Joanna Tucker Davis;  Porter, Scott, Weiberg & Delehant and Laura J. Marabito, Sacramento, for National Crime Victim Law Institute as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Respondent.