U.S. v. Blazier, 68 M.J. 439

First Principles: Constitutional Matters: Confrontation

1. the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him; this gives accuseds the right to question not only witnesses providing oral, in-court testimony, but also the declarant of any hearsay that is testimonial; before such testimonial hearsay may be admitted, the Confrontation Clause requires that the accused have been afforded a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness and that the witness be unavailable

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Hearsay › Generally

1. the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him; this gives accuseds the right to question not only witnesses providing oral, in-court testimony, but also the declarant of any hearsay that is testimonial; before such testimonial hearsay may be admitted, the Confrontation Clause requires that the accused have been afforded a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness and that the witness be unavailable
2. a non-exclusive list of examples of what constitutes testimonial hearsay includes: (1) ex parte in-court testimony or its functional equivalent - that is, material such as affidavits, custodial examinations, prior testimony that the defendant was unable to cross-examine, or similar pretrial statements that declarants would reasonably expect to be used prosecutorially; (2) extrajudicial statements contained in formalized testimonial materials, such as affidavits, depositions, prior testimony, or confessions; and (3) statements that were made under circumstances which would lead an objective witness reasonably to believe that the statement would be available for use at a later trial
3. the top portions of drug testing report cover memoranda - which summarized and clearly set forth the “accusation” that certain substances were confirmed present in appellant’s urine at concentrations above the DOD cutoff level ‑ are clearly testimonial for Confrontation Clause purposes; the evidentiary purpose of those memoranda was apparent, as they not only summarized and digested voluminous data but were generated in direct response to a request from a command indicating they were needed for use at a court-martial

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Witnesses: Confrontation

1. the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him; this gives accuseds the right to question not only witnesses providing oral, in-court testimony, but also the declarant of any hearsay that is testimonial; before such testimonial hearsay may be admitted, the Confrontation Clause requires that the accused have been afforded a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness and that the witness be unavailable

Trial Stages: Appeals: Standards of Review, Burdens, etc.

1. an appellate court reviews a military judge’s decision to admit or exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion
2. whether evidence that was admitted constitutes testimonial hearsay is a question of law reviewed by an appellate court de novo