Court bolsters defendant's right to cross-examine witnesses

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday buttressed a criminal defendant's right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses, ruling in favor of a New York man who was convicted of killing a 2-year-old boy on Easter Sunday in 2006.

By an 8-1 vote, the justices held that defendant Darrell Hemphill's constitutional rights were violated when a judge allowed jurors to read another man's testimony that prosecutors used to undermine Hemphill's defense. The man, Nicholas Morris, was unavailable at the trial.

Hemphill argued that Morris fired the 9-millimeter handgun whose stray bullet killed the child in the Bronx. Morris had initially been charged with the killing and illegal possession of a 9-millimeter gun. Police searching Morris’ apartment found a 9-millimeter cartridge and .357-caliber bullets on his nightstand.

The trial judge allowed jurors to see a statement Morris made when pleading guilty to the lesser charge of criminal possession of a .357 revolver. The plea deal made no mention of the 9-millimeter weapon.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/court-bolsters-defendants-right-to-cross-examine-witnesses/ar-AASYH7R

[marie999]

1. I agree with the Supreme Court on this. The 6th Amendment

[iluvtennis]

2. If witness couldn't testify in person, setup session to videotape it

with prosecutors, defense attorneys, defendant, and judge. Play the videotaped testimony to the jury.during the trial. I’m an avid trial watcher and have seen this done many times.

[mwooldri]

3. What's up with Clarence?

The line dissenter in another 8-1 case.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

4. Knows his wife about to be arrested, him shortly after??

Dissenter in trying to hide WH records…hmmm.

[SunSeeker]

5. I knew the lone dissenter was Thomas before I clicked on the link.

If there is an extreme right wing position to be had, he's on it.

[Picaro]

6. Thomas, as always, was the dissenting vote

Thomas again dissents. He's the Mikey of the SC. He hates everything.

[jgmiller]

7. Thomas is taking his originalist theory to the extreme

He basically dissents on everything because according to this theory if it's not actually written in the constitution you can't agree to it.

[LT Barclay]

8. That view infuriates me as much as the constant misreading of the 2nd amendment. If the

Constitution was meant to be viewed that way, it wouldn't have a provision for amendment, and it wouldn't clearly state that just because a right is not listed doesn't mean it doesn't exist (poor paraphrase).