Mann, J.
¶ 1 Theresa Scanlan appeals her convictions for assault in the second degree, felony violation of a court order, and unlawful imprisonment of Leroy Bagnell, her domestic partner. Scanlan contends that (1) the trial court erred in admitting testimonial statements made by Bagnell to medical treatment providers, (2) there was insufficient evidence to support the charge of unlawful imprisonment, and (3) her convictions for both felony violation of a no-contact order and assault in the second degree were based on the same course of conduct and violate double jeopardy.
¶ 2 We hold that because the primary purpose of Bagnell's statements to his treatment providers was for medical treatment, the admission of the statements did not violate Scanlan's rights under the confrontation clause. We further conclude that there was sufficient evidence to support Scanlan's conviction for unlawful imprisonment. We therefore affirm Scanlan's convictions for assault in the second degree and unlawful imprisonment. However, we accept the State's concession and reverse Scanlan's conviction for felony violation of a no-contact order. We remand for resentencing on the crimes of assault in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment, and misdemeanor violation of a no-contact order.
¶ 3 In 2013, Bagnell, an 82-year-old widower, was living independently in the Federal Way home that he had shared with his wife
¶ 4 On October 16, 2014, the Federal Way Police Department responded to Bagnell's home after receiving a 911 hang-up call. The officers found Bagnell and Scanlan inside the home. Scanlan was uninjured, but Bagnell, who was dressed in a t-shirt and underwear, had wounds on his head, arms, and legs. After questioning Scanlan, the officers arrested her. As a result of the incident, a court order was issued prohibiting Scanlan from contacting Bagnell.
¶ 5 A few weeks later, on November 6, 2014, Bagnell's adult children grew concerned after Bagnell missed a scheduled meeting with them. After trying and failing to reach him on his cell phone and home phone, Bagnell's children went to Bagnell's house to check on him.
¶ 6 When Bagnell's children arrived at his house, they found it dark. Its blinds were drawn and all of the interior and exterior lights were out. The children thought this was odd and moved up to the front porch to try to see inside. From the porch they could see the glow of the television and shadowy movements. They rang the doorbell and knocked but received no answer. Bagnell's children were alarmed and opened the door with an emergency key.
¶ 7 Inside, they found Bagnell's home in disarray. Trails of blood ran across the carpet and up the stairs, gouges marked the walls, and broken household items and debris lay on the floor. A golf club leaned against a wall, and a hammer lay on a coffee table. A crowbar was on the dining room table, and a broken broom handle stood in a garbage bucket in the middle of the family room's floor. Bagnell sat alone in a chair in the family room, dazed, bleeding from several wounds, and severely bruised such that "[h]is face was black." Bagnell at first appeared to be unconscious, but he began to respond to their attempts to rouse him as they called 911.
¶ 8 Roughly 15 minutes later, Federal Way Police Officer Brian Bassage arrived at Bagnell's home. Just as Officer Bassage arrived, Scanlan was found hiding under a blanket in the front seat of a car in the garage. As Officer Bassage removed her from the car, Bagnell's daughter yelled out at her that she had "just beat her father half to death, that there was blood everywhere." Scanlan shouted back, "It's not that bad."
¶ 9 At the police station, Scanlan claimed to be injured. The police took pictures, but did not detect any significant injuries. Scanlan did not receive medical treatment.
¶ 10 Bagnell was transported to the hospital where he was treated in the emergency room for his injuries which included: extensive bruising all over his body, four large open wounds on his legs, wounds on his arms, and fractures on both hands. Bagnell was treated in the emergency room on November 6 by emergency room Nurse Catherine Gay and Dr. Robert Britt. Bagnell also met with social worker Jemina Skjonsby. After treatment, but prior to his release, Bagnell met with Federal Way Police Department Detective Adrienne Purcella from about midnight to 1:00 a.m. Bagnell signed a form medical records waiver at 12:55 a.m.
¶ 11 Bagnell did not testify at trial. However, the trial court admitted statements that Bagnell made to medical providers in the emergency room, as well as subsequent statements made to his primary care physician and wound care medical team.
¶ 12 In November 2015, the State charged Scanlan with assault in the second degree (count 1), felony violation of a court order (count 2), unlawful imprisonment (count 3), and assault in the fourth degree (count 4). All counts contained a domestic violence allegation. The jury found Scanlan guilty of assault in the second degree, felony violation of a court order, and unlawful imprisonment. Scanlan appeals.
¶ 13 Scanlan contends first that her right to confront the primary witness against her was violated. She argues that the trial court
¶ 14 The trial court allowed testimony from five medical providers concerning statements that Bagnell made to them during the course of treatment.
¶ 15 Nurse Gay was the first person to speak with Bagnell. Gay testified that when she asked Bagnell how he was injured, Bagnell told her that "his girlfriend had beaten him up, and that he'd had a no-contact order with that individual." Gay testified that when she asked Bagnell why his neck had a "ring mark around the back of [it]," Bagnell told her that "his girlfriend had ... tried to strangle him with his sweatshirt and had pulled the sweatshirt so hard, it had left this permanent ring around the back of his neck." Gay clarified during cross-examination that Bagnell had not used the word "strangled."
¶ 16 Dr. Britt, the emergency room doctor who treated Bagnell, testified that when he asked Bagnell what happened, Bagnell responded that he had been imprisoned in his home for two days:
¶ 17 After Bagnell was medically cleared at about 9:00 p.m., an emergency room social worker named Jemina Skjonsby met with him. Skjonsby testified that when she asked him why he felt okay to return home, Bagnell told her "[t]hat he was relieved that this person had been removed from the home by police and that he wouldn't have to worry about it again."
¶ 18 On November 13, Bagnell met with his primary care physician Dr. Curtis Endow to follow up on his earlier injuries. Dr. Endow testified he observed that Bagnell had "[b]ruises, and swelling over the face, bruises over the upper chest, lower trunk and legs, and in the extremities, multiple bruising and open wounds in various levels of — or depth of degree." Dr. Endow testified that as part of his treatment he asked Bagnell how he had been injured and that Bagnell responded that "he received the injuries during an assault" and that his girlfriend had assaulted him. Dr. Endow referred Bagnell to a wound care clinic for follow up care.
¶ 19 On November 18, Bagnell met with Stacy Friel, a physician's assistant at the wound care clinic, about his wounds. Friel examined multiple wounds, including one wound on Bagnell's left arm, two wounds on his right arm, one wound on his right leg and three wounds on his left leg. Friel testified that as part of her treatment she asked Bagnell how he was injured and that he responded that he "was living with a girlfriend at the time who had locked him in a room and had beat him with a candlestick, a broom, and a hammer over multiple areas."
¶ 20 On November 26, 2017, Bagnell returned to the wound care clinic to see Dr. Jessica Pierce. As part of her treatment, Dr. Pierce asked Bagnell how his injuries happened. She testified that Bagnell told her his injuries were "a result of domestic violence," that "he was hit with a candlestick, a broom," and that he was "punched or hit [with] ... a hammer, something hard."
¶ 21 A confrontation clause challenge is reviewed de novo.
¶ 22 "The Sixth Amendment provides that `[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.'"
¶ 23 Neither Scanlan nor the State dispute that Bagnell was unavailable to testify or that Scanlan had no prior opportunity to cross-examine him. The central issue, therefore, is whether the admitted statements were testimonial.
¶ 24 Scanlan urges that we follow the three-part test for determining when statements made to medical providers are testimonial set out in
¶ 25 As we have previously recognized, confrontation clause jurisprudence has been in rapid flux since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2004 decision in
¶ 26 In
¶ 27 In 2006, the Supreme Court further defined testimonial statements in
¶ 28 In 2011, the United States Supreme Court expounded on the primary purpose test in the law enforcement context in
¶ 29 Another factor is the informality of the situation and interrogation. And, again, while formality is not the "sole touchstone" of the primary purpose test, "informality does not necessarily indicate the presence of an emergency or the lack of testimonial intent."
¶ 30 In
¶ 31 Clark was charged with multiple counts of assault and endangering a child.
¶ 32 In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court declined to adopt a black letter rule that statements to individuals that are not law enforcement officers are outside of the Sixth Amendment.
¶ 33 Applying
¶ 34 Bagnell's statements were not made to law enforcement officers, and law enforcement officers were not present during any of Bagnell's statements to his medical providers.
¶ 35 Further, each of the medical providers testified that their questioning of the cause of Bagnell's injuries was important to their medical treatment. Nurse Gay explained that knowing how an injury occurred is important for managing the patient's care in the hospital and determining property treatment, discharge, and follow up. Dr. Britt testified that it was important to determine the mechanisms of injuries in treating a patient. For example, a bite from a human would be treated differently from a bite from a dog. He explained further that the cause of injuries determines the patient's medical needs, and is important in formulating a discharge plan for safely releasing a patient from the hospital and determining whether a social worker is necessary. Skjonsby testified that knowing how a patient was injured is important for providing the correct social work services and a safe discharge.
¶ 36 Dr. Endow testified that it was important for treatment purposes to determine how Bagnell's injuries occurred and whether they had been caused by fainting, falling, or by some other mechanism. Dr. Endow also needed to determine if an elderly patient like Bagnell was safe to return home. Dr. Pierce testified that wound care requires a comprehensive evaluation of the patient. Dr. Pierce explained that emotional status plays an important role in the healing process and that depression can be a problem. He explained further that the mechanisms of the injury plays an important role in choosing proper treatment when wounds are not healing properly. For example, if the patient has fallen, the risk of future falls must be assessed and treated.
¶ 37 Scanlan's right to confrontation was not violated by the testimony of Bagnell's medical providers because the medical providers' primary purpose in asking Bagnell how he was injured was not to create an out-of-court substitute for trial testimony. The medical providers' primary purpose in asking Bagnell, a severely injured elderly man, about how he was injured was to diagnose his injuries and treat them. When Bagnell arrived at the hospital, he was "bruised from head to toe, bleeding from several skin
¶ 38 Scanlan counters that the medical waivers Bagnell signed would have made a reasonable declarant aware that his statements made to medical providers would be used in a future trial. But the medical waivers are irrelevant to the primary purpose of why Bagnell was speaking with the doctors. The primary purpose of Bagnell's interactions with his medical providers was for treatment and diagnosis. Under
¶ 39 In sum, the medical providers' testimony of what Bagnell told them was nontestimonial because the primary purpose of the conversation was for treatment and diagnosis. Bagnell's statements to his medical providers were not testimonial and were properly admitted.
¶ 40 Scanlan argues further that Bagnell's statements elicited through Officer Giger and Detective Purcella's testimony were testimonial statements.
¶ 41 On November 6, Officer Giger responded to Bagnell's house after Scanlan's alleged assault. Giger testified that while assessing the scene she asked Bagnell if Scanlan hurt him:
¶ 42 Here, Officer Giger's statement is testimonial because when viewed objectively, the primary purpose of a police officer's question in this scenario would be to gather evidence for trial and "creat[e] an out-of-court substitute for trial testimony."
¶ 43 On November 11, four days after Bagnell's assault, Detective Purcella met with Bagnell at his home. The purpose of her meeting was "to see injuries and things like that, how they had progressed, and check on [Bagnell] as well." During this meeting, Purcella saw Bagnell walking with a cane. She testified that she "asked him if that was typical for him, and he said that it was not and that he was using it as a result of the assault."
¶ 44 Here, again Detective Purcella's statement was testimonial because when viewed objectively, the primary purpose of a detective in her position would be to gather evidence for trial and "creat[e] an out-of-court substitute for trial testimony."
¶ 45 We agree with Scanlan that the statements elicited through Detective Purcella and Officer Giger were testimonial. We disagree, however, that the introduction of the officers' statements requires reversal of Scanlan's assault and unlawful imprisonment convictions.
¶ 46 The harmless-error standard applies to confrontation clause errors.
¶ 47 Here, any error was harmless. The improper testimony from Officer Giger and Detective Purcella was cumulative of other evidence of assault. Circumstantial evidence that Scanlan assaulted Bagnell was overwhelming. Scanlan was the only other person with Bagnell when he was found severely injured on November 6. In addition, Scanlan tacitly admitted that she assaulted Bagnell. A police officer testified at trial that when he pulled Scanlan out of the car she was hiding in, Bagnell's children yelled at her that "she had just beat her father half to death." The police officer testified that Scanlan shouted back, "It's not that bad." This is a tacit admission of guilt. In addition, Officer Giger and Detective Purcella's improper testimony did not affect the unlawful imprisonment charge.
¶ 48 Scanlan next contends that there was insufficient evidence of her conviction for unlawful imprisonment.
¶ 49 When reviewing a claim for the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider "whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt."
¶ 50 The State charged Scanlan with unlawful imprisonment under RCW 9A.40.040 which states: "A person is guilty of unlawful imprisonment if he or she knowingly restrains another person." To prove restraint, the State had to prove that Scanlan restricted Bagnell's movements "(a) without consent and (b) without legal authority, in a manner which interfered substantially with his liberty."
¶ 51 There is sufficient evidence of unlawful imprisonment. First, Bagnell told Dr. Britt that "he had been in his home for two days, that he had been imprisoned, or at least held in his home, against his will." Physician's assistant Friel testified that Bagnell told her that Scanlan locked him in a room: "[h]e was living with a girlfriend at the time who had locked him in a room and had beat him with a candlestick, a broom, and a hammer over multiple areas."
¶ 52 Second, circumstantial evidence supports the inference that Scanlan used force or the threat of force to restrain Bagnell. Bagnell's children found the front door locked, their father in a stupor, the house in disarray, and a broken broom, hammer, golf club, and crowbar. Bagnell's children were
¶ 53 Scanlan, relying on
¶ 54 Scanlan's argument fails because there was evidence that Bagnell was held against his will: he told Dr. Britt that "he had been in his home for two days, that he had been imprisoned, or at least held in his home, against his will." We affirm Scanlan's conviction for unlawful imprisonment.
¶ 55 Scanlan argues finally that her convictions for assault in the second degree and felony violation of a no-contact order violate double jeopardy because they are based on the same assaultive conduct. The State concedes this point. We accept the State's concession and remand for the imposition of a conviction for misdemeanor violation of a no-contact order and resentencing if necessary.
¶ 56 Otherwise we affirm Scanlan's conviction for second degree assault and unlawful imprisonment.
WE CONCUR:
Verellen, J.
Cox, J.