Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004)

Full notes and cites: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/084-crawford-v-washington

Official text (U.S. Reports, Library of Congress): https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep541/usrep541036/usrep541036.pdf

Full text of the opinions, AI-narrated (Kokoro-82M, voice af_heart). Original introduction; opinion text is public domain. Not legal advice.

Michael Crawford stabbed a man who, he said, had tried to rape his wife Sylvia. At trial, Sylvia did not testify because of the state marital privilege, but prosecutors played her tape-recorded statement to police, which undercut his claim of self-defense. Under Ohio versus Roberts, an out-of-court statement could come in if it bore adequate indicia of reliability.

Justice Scalia, for the Court, overruled the Roberts approach. Reviewing the history of the Confrontation Clause, including the 1603 trial of Sir Walter Raleigh, he held that testimonial statements of a witness absent from trial are admissible only if the witness is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination. Dispensing with confrontation because testimony is obviously reliable, he wrote, is akin to dispensing with jury trial because a defendant is obviously guilty.

Chief Justice Rehnquist, joined by Justice O'Connor, concurred only in the judgment. Courts have spent the years since defining what "testimonial" means.

Citations: reporter citations were shortened or left out of the audio; every citation is listed on the website.

Cases named aloud

- Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56 (1980) [as printed: Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U. S. 56 (1980); Dissent (Chief Justice Rehnquist)] episode

- Woodsides v. State, 3 Miss. 655 (1837) at 664-665 [as printed: Woodsides v. State, 3 Miss. 655, 664-665 (1837); Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

- Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012 (1988) at 1015 [as printed: Coy v. Iowa, 487 U. S. 1012, 1015 (1988); Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

- Jardine, supra, at 520 at 520 [as printed: Jardine, supra, at 520; Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

- Hale, supra, at 306 at 306 [as printed: Hale, supra, at 306; Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

- Lord Morley’s Case, 6 How.St.Tr. 769 (H. L. 1666) at 770-771 [as printed: Lord Morley’s Case, 6 How. St. Tr. 769, 770-771 (H. L. 1666); Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

- Hale, supra, at 585 at 585 [as printed: Hale, supra, at 585; Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

- Fenwick’s Case, 13 How.St.Tr. 537 (H. C. 1696) at 591-592 (Powys) [as printed: Fenwick’s Case, 13 How. St. Tr. 537, 591-592 (H. C. 1696) (Powys); Opinion of the Court (Justice Scalia)] (episode link pending)

(+34 more named aloud; see the website)

Full list of 204 citations not read aloud: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/084-crawford-v-washington