15-2005 United States of America v. Derrick Smith

Listen to this article

7^TH Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Derrick Smith

Case No.: 15-2005

Officials: POSNER, FLAUM, and EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judges

Appellants own acts and statements, not those of witness that failed to testify, convicted him.

“The Confrontation Clause, by contrast, affects only “testimonial” statements. See, e.g., Ohio v. Clark, 135 S. Ct. 2173 (2015); Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004). Indeed it covers only a subset of testimonial hearsay. Statements that would have been admissible at common law in 1793 (in other words, statements that are not hearsay or are covered by longstanding exceptions to the hearsay doctrine) are outside the Sixth Amendment, see Giles v. California, 554 U.S. 353, 358–59 (2008), as are all statements by witnesses who are available for cross-examination, see Crawford, 541 U.S. at 60 n.9. And Clark shows that the Court has not yet decided whether the Confrontation Clause covers testimonial statements by one private party to another. Thus if a statement is not hearsay, because not offered for its truth, it also is not “testimonial” for the purpose of the Confrontation Clause.”

Affirmed

Full Text

Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.