Galindo and “Substitute Analysts” After Melendez-Diaz

On October 20, 2009, the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided State v. Galindo, holding that a Crawford violation occurred when the State's expert gave an opinion, in a drug trafficking case, as to the weight of the cocaine at issue, based "solely" on a laboratory report by a non-testifying analyst. To put the decision in context, recall that last June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Melendez-Diaz, holding that forensic laboratory reports-such as those identifying a substance as a controlled substance-are testimonial under the new Crawford confrontation clause rule. A more detailed analysis of that case is available here. In State v. Locklear, the North Carolina Supreme Court applied Melendez-Diaz and held that a Crawford violation occurred when the trial court admitted opinion testimony regarding a victim's cause of death and identity. As explained in more detail here, in Locklear, the State offered John Butts, the Chief Medical Examiner, as an expert in forensic pathology. Butts testified that, according to an autopsy report prepared by a non-testifying forensic pathologist, the cause of the victim's death was blunt force injuries. Butts also testified about a dental analysis performed by a second non-testifying examiner; Butts testified that by comparing dental records and skeletal remains, that examiner had identified the body as that of the victim. The N.C. Supreme Court found that a Crawford violation had occurred because the reports at issue were testimonial. However, the opinion left some ambiguity about whether a distinction could be drawn between an expert who simply serves as [...]