U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Child's Statements to Teachers Are Non-Testimonial

On June 18th the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ohio v. Clark, 576 U.S. __, 135 S. Ct. 2173 (2015), holding that a child abuse victim’s statements to his preschool teachers were non-testimonial under the Crawford confrontation clause analysis. As the first Crawford case addressing statements by a child victim, Clark is an important decision for child abuse prosecutions. Also, because it’s the Court’s first case assessing the testimonial nature of statements made to persons other than the police or their agents, it has broader significance for the Crawford analysis. The defendant in Clark, who went by the nickname “Dee,” was caring for three-year-old L.P. and his 18-month-old sister A.T. The defendant was the children’s mother’s boyfriend and her pimp. The defendant was taking care of the children after having sent their mother out of town on prostitution work. After the defendant left L.P. at preschool, L.P.’s teacher, Ramona Whitley, observed that L.P.’s left eye was bloodshot. When Whitley asked him “[w]hat happened,” L.P. initially said nothing. Eventually, however, he told Whitley that he “fell.” Once in brighter lights, Whitley noticed “[r]ed marks, like whips of some sort,” on L.P.’s face. She notified the lead teacher, Debra Jones, who asked L.P., “Who did this? What happened to you?” L.P. “said something like, Dee, Dee.” Jones asked L.P. whether Dee is “big or little;” L.P. responded that “Dee is big.” Jones then brought L.P. to her supervisor, who lifted the boy’s shirt, revealing more injuries. Whitley called a child abuse hotline to alert [...]