Bernard S., a juvenile, appeals from his conviction of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He asserts that the district court erred in: (1) finding that he waived his Miranda rights before making inculpatory statements to an FBI agent; and (2) admitting into evidence medical records indicating the extent of the victim's injuries. We affirm.

On May 3, 1985, an altercation occurred between appellant and Lemuel Goode in a house on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Goode received head injuries which required hospitalization.

On May 14, 1985, FBI Agent Lynn Bedford questioned appellant at the San Carlos Police Department on the reservation. Appellant's mother and San Carlos Police Lieutenant Stevens, who both spoke Apache, were also present.

Prior to questioning, Agent Bedford advised appellant of his Miranda rights by reading from a standard form in English. Bedford then explained each individual right to appellant and his mother. After each right, Bedford asked appellant if he understood his rights, and he stated that he did. Appellant also stated that he was willing to waive his rights and signed a written waiver form. Appellant never indicated that he did not understand his rights. He did ask his mother and Lt. Stevens to explain a few items into Apache, but these translations were made after the Miranda rights were read and waived, and did not involve those rights.1

Bedford questioned appellant after he had signed the waiver form. He responded to Bedford's questions in English. During the questioning, appellant made inculpatory statements indicating that he had assaulted Lemuel Goode.

Appellant was charged with juvenile delinquency, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 5031-5037, for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 113(f), 1153. A bench trial and a hearing were held on September 13, 1985. Before trial, appellant objected to the government's use of his statements to Agent Bedford on the ground that they were obtained involuntarily and in violation of his Miranda rights. Appellant also objected at trial to the admission of a copy of the victim's medical records as violating the confrontation clause of the sixth amendment. The district court overruled both objections and found the defendant guilty. Appellant was sentenced to the custody of the Attorney General until his 18th birthday.

We review the district court's determination that a defendant waived his Miranda rights under the clearly erroneous standard. United States v. Doe, 787 F.2d 1290, 1293 (9th Cir.1986); United States v. Binder, 769 F.2d 595, 598 (9th Cir.1985).

To be valid, a waiver of Miranda rights must be voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently made. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 479, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 1630, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966); Binder, 769 F.2d at 599. Whether there has been a valid waiver depends on the totality of the circumstances, including the background, experience, and conduct of defendant. North Carolina v. Butler, 441 U.S. 369, 374-75, 99 S. Ct. 1755, 1757-58, 60 L. Ed. 2d 286 (1979); see Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464, 58 S. Ct. 1019, 1023, 82 L. Ed. 1461 (1938). The age of the defendant is one factor in applying the totality test. See Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 725, 99 S. Ct. 2560, 2571, 61 L. Ed. 2d 197 (1979). Similarly, any language difficulties encountered by the defendant are considered to determine if there has been a valid waiver. See United States v. Heredia-Fernandez, 756 F.2d 1412, 1415 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S. Ct. 110, 88 L. Ed. 2d 90 (1985); see also United States v. Gonzales, 749 F.2d 1329, 1335-36 (9th Cir.1984) (reviewing language difficulties in determining whether waiver was valid); United States v. Martinez, 588 F.2d 1227, 1235 (9th Cir.1978) (assuming "without so holding that if Miranda warnings are given in a language which the person being so instructed does not understand, a waiver of those rights would not be valid"). There is a presumption against waiver, and the burden of showing a valid waiver is on the prosecutor. Butler, 441 U.S. at 373, 99 S.Ct. at 1759; Binder, 769 F.2d at 599.

Appellant challenges the finding that he validly waived his Miranda rights on essentially two grounds. First, he argues that because he has a limited knowledge of English, he could not validly waive his rights because they were not explained to him in Apache. Second, appellant notes that he is only seventeen years old and claims that the district court "failed to scrutinize a confession, by a juvenile, with special care." A review of the record, however, reveals substantial evidence supporting the district court's determination that appellant understood and validly waived his Miranda rights.

It is clear from the record that appellant does have some difficulty with English. He testified that he neither reads nor writes English, he occasionally spoke Apache with his mother and Lt. Stevens during the questioning to clarify some items, and he was assisted in his testimony at trial by an interpreter. On the other hand, he admitted that he studied English through the seventh grade and that he answered Agent Bedford's questions in English.

Most importantly, after Bedford explained each of his rights to him in English, appellant stated that he understood his rights. Bedford testified that "I asked him if he understood [his rights], if he understood all of the wording, and he stated that he did. He didn't have any questions. I also made sure that his mother understood what his rights were. And I explained to both of them and asked them if they understood. And they stated that they did." At no time did appellant indicate that he did not understand his rights.

Despite the language difficulties encountered by appellant, the evidence seems to indicate that he understood his rights and voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived them. See Martinez, 588 F.2d at 1234-35;2 see also Gonzales, 749 F.2d at 1336 ("The court and jury also heard ample testimony concerning both [the agent's] Spanish ability and [the Spanish-speaking defendant's] English ability, and that evidence would support a determination that the two understood each other.").3

Appellant's second contention, that the district court failed to scrutinize the issue of waiver with "special care because of [appellant's] age," is without merit. Although age is a factor in determining whether there has been a valid waiver of Miranda rights, the totality of the circumstances test is equally applicable to juveniles and adults. Fare, 442 U.S. at 725-27, 99 S.Ct. at 2571-73. The Court in Fare noted:

The totality-of-the-circumstances approach is adequate to determine whether there has been a waiver even where interrogation of juveniles is involved. We discern no persuasive reasons why any other approach is required where the question is whether a juvenile has waived his rights, as opposed to whether an adult has done so. The totality approach permits--indeed, it mandates--inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation.

Id. at 725, 99 S.Ct. at 2572. The record in this case does not indicate that appellant's age negated the district court's finding that he validly waived his Miranda rights. See Fare, 442 U.S. at 726-27, 99 S.Ct. at 2572 (valid waiver by sixteen year-old juvenile); Doe, 787 F.2d at 129 (valid waiver by juvenile); United States v. Palmer, 604 F.2d 64, 67 (10th Cir.1979) (valid waiver by seventeen year-old).

In sum, the evidence tends to indicate that appellant made a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent waiver of his Miranda rights. At appellant's request, and in the presence of his mother, Agent Bedford read his rights to him and explained each right to him individually. After he was explained each of his rights, appellant stated that he understood that right. He answered Agent Bedford's questions in English and at no time indicated that he did not understand what was being said to him. Finally, appellant signed a written waiver of his Miranda rights.4 Accordingly, the district court's finding that appellant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived his Miranda rights is not clearly erroneous. See Doe, 787 F.2d at 1293 ("At the time appellant5 was first questioned, he was in the eleventh grade, had a good command of the English language and was able to converse coherently and rationally with [an FBI agent]. There is no indication that he was too upset or of insufficient intelligence and maturity to understand the rights he was waiving or the consequences of his waiver.").

We review a district court's decision to admit evidence for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Ordonez, 737 F.2d 793, 811 (9th Cir.1984).

The sixth amendment's confrontation clause provides that "in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against them." U.S. Const. amend. VI. The clause indicates a preference for face-to-face confrontation at trial and is primarily intended to secure the right of cross-examination. Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 63, 100 S. Ct. 2531, 2537, 65 L. Ed. 2d 597 (1980). Although based on similar principles, the confrontation clause and the hearsay rule are not coextensive. Dutton v. Evans, 400 U.S. 74, 86, 91 S. Ct. 210, 218, 27 L. Ed. 2d 213 (1970). Thus, admitting a hearsay statement into evidence may still violate the confrontation clause even though the evidence falls within a recognized hearsay exception. See Dutton, 400 U.S. at 82, 91 S.Ct. at 216; California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 155-56, 90 S. Ct. 1930, 1933-34, 26 L. Ed. 2d 489 (1970); United States v. Huber, 772 F.2d 585, 588 (9th Cir.1985).

Before the Court's recent decision in United States v. Inadi, --- U.S. ----, 106 S. Ct. 1121, 89 L. Ed. 2d 390 (1986), evidence admissable under a hearsay exception was also scrutinized under the confrontation clause through a two-prong test elaborated in Roberts :

In sum, when a hearsay declarant is not present for cross-examination at trial, the Confrontation Clause normally requires a showing that he is unavailable. Even then, his statement is admissible only if it bears adequate "indicia of reliability."

448 U.S. at 66, 100 S. Ct. at 2539. The "unavailability" prong of Roberts, however, is not an absolute requirement. The government need not demonstrate the unavailability of a hearsay declarant when the "utility of trial confrontation [is] remote." Roberts, 448 U.S. at 65 n. 7, 100 S. Ct. at 2538 n. 7 (citing Dutton, 400 U.S. at 87, 91 S.Ct. at 219); see Huber, 772 F.2d at 588; United States v. Perez, 658 F.2d 654, 661 (9th Cir.1981). In Dutton, the court did not require production of a seemingly available witness because the hearsay statement was "of peripheral significance" in light of the plethora of other evidence. Dutton, 400 U.S. at 87, 91 S.Ct. at 219; see Huber, 772 F.2d at 588. Thus, a showing of unavailablity may be unnecessary where the testimony is "neither 'crucial' to the prosecution nor 'devastating' to the defendant." Perez, 658 F.2d at 661 (quoting Dutton, 400 U.S. at 87, 91 S.Ct. at 219); see Huber, 772 F.2d at 588; United States v. McClintock, 748 F.2d 1278, 1292 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S. Ct. 75, 88 L. Ed. 2d 61 (1985).6

In Inadi, the Court held that the unavailability prong of Roberts is inapplicable to hearsay statements of a nontestifying coconspirator admitted under the coconspirator exception of Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). Inadi, 106 S. Ct. at 1129. The Court held that unlike the prior testimony evaluated in Roberts, which is merely a substitute for in-court testimony, statements made during a conspiracy have an evidentary significance that cannot be replicated by in-court testimony. Id. at 1126-27. The Court also noted that if the defendant wishes to cross-examine the declarant, he may subpoena the declarant as a witness. Id. at 1127-28.

Some language of the Inadi opinion casts doubt on the general application of the Roberts unavailability prong to hearsay other than prior testimony. See Inadi, 106 S. Ct. at 1125-26.7 The Court, however, subsequently decided Lee v. Illinois, --- U.S. ----, 106 S. Ct. 2056, 90 L. Ed. 2d 514 (1986), in which it held that a codefendant's hearsay confession inculpating the defendant was inadmissable under the confrontation clause because it was unreliable. In analyzing the reliability of the codefendant's confession, both the majority and the dissent in Lee assumed that the unavailability prong of Roberts applied to the codefendant's confession. Id. 106 S.Ct. at 2061, 2067 n. 2 (Blackmun, J., dissenting).

Thus, it is unclear, in light of Inadi and Lee, whether the unavailablity prong applies to hearsay statements admitted under the business records exception. We need not decide this issue, however, because we find that the statements were properly admitted in this case even if the unavailablity prong of Roberts, vis-a-vis the business records exception, survives Inadi. We will thus assume arguendo, as did the Court in Lee, that the unavailability analysis of Roberts applies to this case.

Appellant contends that the admission of the medical records of Lemuel Goode violated the confrontation clause because the doctor who entered the information on the records did not testify.8 Although the government produced the custodian of the hospital records at trial to establish a foundation for the admission of the medical records under the business records exception, it failed to produce or demonstrate the unavailability of the doctor. See Roberts, 448 U.S. at 65, 100 S.Ct. at 2538. Were the government required to establish in this case that the doctor who prepared the medical records was unavailable, then, the admission of the records would run afoul of the confrontation clause.9 In this case, however, a showing of unavailablilty was not required because the evidence contained in the records was of peripheral significance.

Appellant claims that the admission of the medical records was crucial in establishing the element of "serious bodily injury."10 He contends that he was denied the opportunity to challenge the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in the records. The evidence in the medical records, however, corroborated extensive evidence concerning the nature of Goode's injuries. Goode himself testified at length about the nature of his injuries and the extent of his hospitalization.11 Other witnesses testified that appellant repeatedly hit Goode on the head and body with a large stick. Additionally, several witnesses testified that after the beating, Goode was bleeding from his head and apparently was unconscious.12 Finally, the government introduced photographs of Goode taken by a police officer. The photographs apparently demonstrated that Goode's injuries were serious.

In sum, the medical records simply corroborated the testimony of several witnesses, and especially the victim, that he suffered severe injuries as a result of the beating. The evidence contained in the medical records was neither crucial to the government nor devastating to the defense; further, any utility in confronting the doctor would have been "remote." Thus the records were admissible without a showing of unavailability. See Roberts, 448 U.S. at 65 n. 7, 100 S. Ct. at 2538 n. 7; Dutton, 400 U.S. at 87-88, 91 S.Ct. at 219.

Moreover, confrontation clause violations are subject to harmless error analysis. Delaware v. Van Arsdall, --- U.S. ----, 106 S. Ct. 1431, 1437-38, 89 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1986); see Lee, 106 S. Ct. at 2065-66; United States v. Mouzin, 785 F.2d 682, 693 (9th Cir.1986). The admission of the medical records in this case does not require a reversal if the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Van Arsdall, 106 S. Ct. at 1438. Whether a violation of the confrontation clause is harmless depends on a variety of factors including: (1) the importance of the evidence to the prosecutions's case; (2) whether the evidence was cumulative; (3) the presence of corroborating evidence; (4) the overall strength of the prosecution's case. Id.

In this case, any error is harmless because, as discussed above, the evidence was of peripheral significance to the case.

The district court properly found that despite defendant's age and minor difficulties with the English language, he understood his Miranda rights read to him by Agent Bedford and voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived those rights. The district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the medical records without the government first showing that the doctor who completed the records was unavailable as a witness; such evidence was of peripheral significance and, in any event, any error was harmless. The judgment against appellant is therefore

AFFIRMED.