People v. Schlott, 33 N.E.3d 665

Defendant Bradley Schlott was indicted (2009) for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery for allegedly cutting the victim with a knife on March 12, 2009.
Discovery was ordered after arraignment with an April 22, 2009 due date; the jury trial was set for September 2013 after multiple continuances.
In June 2012 the trial court suppressed defendant’s statements identifying the knife but allowed the knife into evidence under inevitable-discovery principles.
In August–September 2013 the defense moved to suppress portions of two 911 calls; the State discovered the knife had not been submitted for DNA testing, submitted it for expedited analysis, and disclosed the completed report to defense counsel days later.
The trial court (Sept. 17, 2013) (1) barred the State from introducing the DNA results as a discovery sanction and (2) redacted portions of defendant’s 911-call responses as violative of Crawford. The State appealed both rulings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether exclusion of DNA report was proper sanction for late disclosure	State: report was promptly disclosed after discovery; no Rule 415 violation; exclusion was excessive	Schlott: late tender (days before trial) was a discovery violation; exclusion was justified	Reversed — no discovery violation; exclusion was an abuse of discretion (or at least unjustified)
Whether defendant’s responses on 911 call are admissible given Crawford	State: defendant’s recorded answers are admissions/nonhearsay and not subject to Crawford	Schlott: portions should be excluded under Crawford (and alternatively as more prejudicial than probative)	Reversed — responses are party admissions (nonhearsay); Crawford inapplicable; redaction was error

Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004) (testimonial hearsay barred by Confrontation Clause unless witness unavailable and prior cross-examination)
People v. Leach, 2012 IL 111534 (Ill. 2012) (threshold for Crawford analysis is whether statement is hearsay)
People v. Ramsey, 239 Ill. 2d 342 (2010) (review of discovery-sanction decisions for abuse of discretion)
People v. Scott, 339 Ill. App. 3d 565 (2003) (exclusion of evidence as discovery sanction is disfavored and reserved for extreme situations)
People v. Heard, 187 Ill. 2d 36 (1999) (burden on defendant to show surprise or prejudice from discovery violation)
People v. Aguilar, 265 Ill. App. 3d 105 (1994) (defendant’s own statements offered against him are admissions and not hearsay)