CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE: U.S. SUPREME COURT REVERSES VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT ON MELENDEZ-TYPE CONFRONTATION CASE
BRISCOE V. VIRGINIA
Decided: 1/25/10
No. 07-11191
Full Text: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/07-11191.pdf
CONFRONTATION CLAUSE (Signed certificates prepared by forensic analysts
are testimonial for purposes of the Confrontation Clause)
The United States Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision vacating the
judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia and remanding the case for
further proceedings consistent with its recent opinion in Melendez-Diaz v.
Massachusetts.
Briscoe was arrested for possession of cocaine. At trial, he objected to the admission of analysis certificates used to prove that the substance he possessed was cocaine. Briscoe claimed the right to confront the forensic analysts that produced the certificates. Procedural safeguards in Virginia allow defendants to call forensic analysts as witnesses. Briscoe argued
that the safeguard did not adequately satisfy his right to confront the witnesses against him as guaranteed in the Confrontation Clause. The Supreme Court of Virginia held that it did not need to determine whether the certificates were testimonial under Crawford. Testimonial statements
subject to the Confrontation Clause will not be admissible in court unless the person who made the statement testifies in court and is subject to cross examination, or if the defense had a prior opportunity to cross examine the witness.
The Court vacated the Virginia Supreme Court decision and remanded the case for proceedings consistent with Melendez-Diaz, in which the Court held that affidavits such as forensic analysis certificates are testimonial statements under Crawford. The Confrontation Clause requires the opportunity for cross examination regarding these statements.
