U.S. v. Dollar, 69 M.J. 411

First Principles: Constitutional Matters: Confrontation

1. the preadmission of two drug testing report cover memoranda through a surrogate expert witness to prove a charge of wrongful use of cocaine violated the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment where the declarants who made statements on the cover memoranda did not testify

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Witnesses: Confrontation

1. the preadmission of two drug testing report cover memoranda through a surrogate expert witness to prove a charge of wrongful use of cocaine violated the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment where the declarants who made statements on the cover memoranda did not testify

Trial Stages: Appeals: Harmless / Prejudicial Error

1. a violation of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment arising from the preadmission of two drug testing report cover memoranda that contained statements of declarants who did not testify was not rendered harmless beyond a reasonable doubt when the surrogate expert witness later testified about the drug test results, where the expert frequently referred to the cover memoranda, and at one point read verbatim from a cover memorandum in response to being asked what he could conclude from the results