State v. Hutchison

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of facilitation of first degree murder and one count of facilitation of aggravated robbery. The court of criminal appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the admission into evidence of an autopsy report through the testimony of a medical examiner who did not perform the autopsy was not testimonial, so its admission into evidence did not violate Defendant’s rights under the Confrontation Clause; (2) the responding officer’s initial entry into Defendant’s home was justified by exigent circumstances, and the subsequent entry into the home by other officers was a continuation of the responding officer’s entry into the home, and therefore, the trial court properly denied Defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence that was in plain view and within the scope of the search; and (3) even if the trial court erred in admitting into evidence items that were not in plain view during the warrantless search, the error was harmless. View "State v. Hutchison" on Justia Law