by Fred Sisto | May 9, 2024 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
The Court concluded with the following in relevant part: Second, the Framers would not have allowed admission of testimonial statements of a witness who did not appear at trial unless he was unavailable to testify and the defendant had had a prior opportunity for...
by Fred Sisto | May 7, 2024 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
Justice Scalia also authored the United States Supreme Court Confrontation Clause opinion for the seven-justice majority in Crawford v. Washington. Two justices filed an opinion concurring in the judgment but differing in their analysis. Justice Scalia wrote in...
by Fred Sisto | May 5, 2024 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
Justice Scalia concluded with the following in relevant part: The arguments advanced to avoid this rather straightforward application of Crawford are rejected. Respondent’s claim that the analysts are not subject to confrontation because they are not...
by Fred Sisto | May 3, 2024 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
Another seminal case dealing with the Confrontation Clause is Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. There, Justice Scalia wrote for the 5-4 majority in relevant part: At petitioner’s state-court drug trial, the prosecution introduced certificates of state laboratory...
by Fred Sisto | May 1, 2024 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
Justice Ginsburg continued in relevant part: The comparative reliability of an analyst’s testimonial report does not dispense with the Clause. The analysts who write reports introduced as evidence must be made available for confrontation even if they have “the...
