State v. Monroe, 2011 Ohio 3045

Background

Monroe was convicted of voluntary manslaughter with a firearm specification in Ohio; this is his appeal following a second trial after a prior murder conviction and new-trial order.
Shooting occurred in the early hours of December 22, 2007 on West 48th Street in Cleveland; the decedent was David Bober; intoxicated witnesses Raymond and Milton described the scene.
Dan Smith and Crystal Demopoulos testified identifying Monroe as the shooter; Milton and Raymond offered inconsistent descriptions due to intoxication.
Police recovered two shell casings near a manhole at West 48th and Koch Court; no fingerprints or DNA linked Monroe to the crime.
911 calls were introduced, expanding the crime scene to Monroe’s residence; the trial court gave limiting instructions about the calls’ use.
A coroner’s autopsy testified about death and intoxication; the autopsy findings were not contested as to the cause of death.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Credibility testimony by the scene officer	Monroe claims Foley’s statements about lying outside were improper vouching.	Monroe asserts it invaded the jury’s province to assess credibility.	Overruled; testimony aimed to explain why Monroe was presented for identification, not to vouch.
Hearsay and confrontation with non-testifying witnesses	Monroe challenges Foley’s remarks about information from non-testifying sources.	Monroe contends such testimony is hearsay and violates confrontation.	Overruled; testimony limited and admissible as non-hearsay explanations of investigative conduct.
Reading Dan Smith’s police statement	Monroe argues rehabilitative use of Dan’s entire statement violated confrontation.	Dan’s consistency was retrievable by full statement to address inconsistencies.	Overruled; complete statement admissible for rehabilitation where partially introduced.
Autopsy testimony by a non-testifying expert	Monroe argues Dr. Miller’s testimony violated confrontation because he did not perform the autopsy.	Autopsy findings are non-testimonial business records; proper under Crawford/Craig.	Overruled; autopsy testimony did not violate confrontation as it concerned non-testimonial findings.
Admission of Dennis Smith’s 911 calls	Monroe contends 911 calls were hearsay and improperly used to inflame jurors.	Calls aided investigation and were limited in purpose.	Overruled; admission not hearsay for the stated purposes and, at worst, harmless.

Key Cases Cited

Shellock v. Klempay Bros., 167 Ohio St. 279 (1958) (rehabilitation allowed by limited scope of prior statements)
State v. Blevins, 36 Ohio App.3d 147 (1987) (admissibility of statements explaining officer conduct in investigation)
State v. Craig, 110 Ohio St.3d 306 (2006-Ohio-4571) (autopsy testimony as non-testimonial business record not violating confrontation)
Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. 260 (2009) (certificate testimony of forensic analysts deemed testimonial)
Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004) (confrontation right requires witness in court or prior cross-examination)
State v. Steward, 2003-Ohio-1337 (2003) (limits on admissibility of statements to explain investigative conduct)
State v. S.Hane?, 63 Ohio St.3d 630 (1992) (voluntary manslaughter instruction when provocation exists)
State v. Shane, 63 Ohio St.3d 630 (1992) (instructions on voluntary manslaughter; provocation standard)
State v. Wamsley, 2008-Ohio-1195 (2008) (plain error review of jury instructions in criminal trial)