Winzer

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Around 10:45 a.m. on December 2, 2001, Winzer and his “on-again, off-again” girlfriend, declarant Parrish Harvey, were strenuously arguing in her home. At the same time, Par- rish’s daughter, nineteen-year-old Mercedes Hernandez, was arguing on the phone with her boyfriend. At Parrish’s insis- tence, Winzer left the house at about 11:00 a.m., ten or fifteen minutes after the argument started.

Later in the afternoon, having had several hours to think about the argument, Parrish called 911. At about 4:40 p.m., Los Angeles police officer Michael Dickson arrived at her house in response to her call. Based on Dickson’s interview 8884 WINZER v. HALL with Parrish and Mercedes, Winzer was charged with two counts of making a terrorist threat. See Cal. Penal Code § 422.

At trial, the State offered the tape of Parrish’s 911 call under California’s “spontaneous statement” exception to hear- say. The trial court found that “it’s got to be one of the calm- est 911 tapes I think I have heard” and “I can’t say from what I hear on the tape . . . that she is under the distress of the excitement of the event. And the bulk of it actually, the bulk of…