State v. King

• Decision Date: 21 November 2006
• Docket Number: No. 2 CA-CR 2005-0256.,2 CA-CR 2005-0256.
• Citation: 146 P.3d 1274,213 Ariz. 632
• Parties: The STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Steven James KING, Appellant.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

Page 1274

146 P.3d 1274

213 Ariz. 632

The STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Steven James KING, Appellant.

No. 2 CA-CR 2005-0256.

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 2, Department A.

November 21, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Terry Goddard, Arizona Attorney General By Randall M. Howe and Cassie Bray Woo, Phoenix, Attorneys for Appellee.

Daniel F. Davis, Tucson, Attorney for Appellant.

OPINION

VÁSQUEZ, Judge.

¶ 1 Steven James King appeals from his convictions for aggravated driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI) on a suspended license, aggravated driving with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more on a suspended license, aggravated DUI with two or more prior DUI convictions, and aggravated driving with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more with two or more prior DUI convictions.

¶ 2 The central issue on appeal is whether the admission of records of King's prior convictions without testimony and Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) records of his license suspension violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment¹ as explained in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). We hold that the records are nontestimonial under Crawford and are admissible under the public and business records exceptions to the hearsay rule. Their admission, therefore, did not violate King's Confrontation Clause rights. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-120.21(A)(1).

Facts and Procedural Background

¶ 3 The facts are not in dispute. King was stopped after a police officer saw him driving erratically. During the stop, officers observed his eyes were watery and bloodshot, his face was flushed, he swayed as he stood, he staggered as he walked and smelled of intoxicants, and his speech was slurred. An officer administered two breath tests; the first showed King had a breath alcohol concentration of .209, and the second .211.

¶ 4 Prior to trial, King moved to suppress the evidence of his prior convictions and the MVD records of his license suspension on the ground their admission would violate his rights under the Confrontation Clause. The trial court denied the motion following an evidentiary hearing. At trial, the court admitted records of King's two prior DUI convictions over his additional objection that one set of records was not properly authenticated and the other did not identify the offense of which he had been convicted. The trial court also denied King's motion to strike the testimony about the results of his breath tests, made on the ground the tests had not been properly administered. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts. The trial court suspended the imposition of sentence and placed King on a ten-year term of probation conditioned on a four-month term of imprisonment.

Discussion

I. Authenticity of Prior Conviction Records

¶ 5 King argues the trial court erred by admitting over his objection records of his prior DUI convictions, one from the Marana Municipal Court and the other from the Cochise County Justice Court. The records were admitted without testimony as certified copies of public records, see Rule 902(4), Ariz. R. Evid., 17A A.R.S., and constituted the sole evidence of King's two prior DUI convictions—an essential element of both counts three and four of the indictment. See A.R.S. § 28-1383(A)(2).

¶ 6 We first address King's contention the Marana conviction records were not self-authenticating because they did not include an attestation² or certification "[c]ommon to all forms of authentication under Rule 902 of the Arizona Rules of Evidence."³ King asserts the records were admitted as certified public records "presumably under Rule 902(4)," but they do not bear the certification required under that rule. Rule 902(4) provides:

Extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not required with respect to the following:

....

(4) Certified copies of public records. A copy of an official record or report or entry therein, or of a document authorized by law to be recorded or filed and actually recorded or filed in a public office, including data compilations in any form, certified as correct by the custodian or other person authorized to make the certification, by certificate complying with paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this rule or complying with any applicable statute or rule.

¶ 7 We review a trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence for a clear abuse of discretion. State v. Tankersley, 191 Ariz. 359, ¶ 37, 956 P.2d 486, 496 (1998). But "[w]e review de novo the interpretation of statutes and rules." State v. Williams, 209 Ariz. 228, ¶ 30, 99 P.3d 43, 50 (App.2004).

¶ 8 The Marana conviction records were attached to a cover letter from the Clerk of the Marana Municipal Court in which she stated that she had searched the court's computer records under the name the deputy county attorney had given her and had found the attached documents. Because the records produced by the clerk did not include the certification required by Rule 902(4), we agree they were not self-authenticating under that rule. But they were properly authenticated under Rule 901(b)(7), Ariz. R. Evid., 17A A.R.S. And we will uphold a trial court's ruling if the court reached the correct result even though based on an incorrect reason. State v. Thompson, 166 Ariz. 526, 527, 803 P.2d 937, 938 (App.1990) ("The trial court's ruling, even though based incorrectly on another rule, will be affirmed if the trial court has reached a correct result.").

¶ 9 "[A]n authenticity objection questions the form in which the evidence is presented." State v. Stotts, 144 Ariz. 72, 81-82, 695 P.2d 1110, 1119-20 (1985). "The requirement of authentication or identification as a condition precedent to admissibility is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims." Ariz. R. Evid. 901(a), 17A A.R.S.; see also State v. Lavers, 168 Ariz. 376, 386, 814 P.2d 333, 343 (1991). Rule 901(b) provides illustrations of authentications which conform with the requirements of the rule. Illustration 7 states:

(7) Public records or reports. Evidence that a writing authorized by law to be recorded or filed and in fact recorded or filed in a public office, or a purported public record, report, statement, or data compilation, in any form, is from the public office where items of this nature are kept.

¶ 10 In her cover letter responding to the deputy county attorney's written request for King's conviction records, the Marana clerk stated she had searched the court's records under the name provided to her, Steven James King, and the records she produced were the court's records for that individual. The records produced by the clerk consisted of a copy of an Arizona traffic ticket and complaint, a plea agreement, a signed waiver of jury trial form, and the minute entries from the change-of-plea proceeding and sentencing. See Ariz. R.Crim. P. 26.16(b), 17 A.R.S. (The court or person authorized by the court is required to enter the exact terms of judgment and sentence in court's minutes.).

¶ 11 The trial court could have reasonably concluded that the records were what the state said they were, that is, a record of King's prior conviction in the Marana Municipal Court. Thompson, 166 Ariz. at 527, 803 P.2d at 938 (prison "pen pack" properly admitted under Rule 901 as evidence of what state said it was—a record of appellant's prior conviction).

The judge does not determine whether the document is authentic, only whether there is some evidence from which the trier of fact could reasonably conclude that it is authentic. Once admitted, the opponent is still free to contest the genuineness or authenticity of the document, and the weight to be given the document becomes a question for the trier of fact.

State v. Irving, 165 Ariz. 219, 223, 797 P.2d 1237, 1241 (App.1990).⁴ We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's admission of the Marana conviction records. See Stotts, 144 Ariz. at 82, 695 P.2d at 1120; State v. Wooten, 193 Ariz. 357, ¶¶ 57-58, 972 P.2d 993, 1004 (App.1998).

¶ 12 King challenges the admission of the Cochise County conviction records on different grounds. He asserts that, "[t]hough ... properly authenticated," the Cochise County records cannot be considered a judgment because they "did not identify the offense for which [he] suffered a conviction." He also claims that deficiency violates Rule 26.16(b), Ariz. R.Crim. P. We disagree.

¶ 13 Rule 26.16(b) merely requires a trial court or authorized person to "enter the exact terms of the judgment and sentence in the court's minutes." It does not dictate the form of a written judgment or provide rules on the admissibility of conviction records. Therefore, we find no violation of Rule 26.16(b) and no impediment based on that rule to the admission of the Cochise County conviction records.

¶ 14 Moreover, contrary to King's assertion, the judgment does identify the offense for which King was convicted. Immediately below the words "Judgment and Sentence" are the following: "Offense: 28-1381 A1," and "Classification: DUI." We find immaterial the fact this information was not restated in the lower portion of the form after the words: "IT IS THE JUDGMENT of the Court that the Defendant is guilty of the following crime(s)." Despite that omission, the judgment clearly identifies King's offense. We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's admission of the Cochise County judgment.

II. Confrontation Clause

¶ 15 King next argues the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him by admitting, without testimony, the records of his prior convictions and, with testimony by the custodian of records, MVD records showing his driver's license had been suspended.⁵ Although we ordinarily review a trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence for an abuse of discretion, "we conduct a ...