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CA8: Right of confrontation does not apply at a suppression hearing

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The right of confrontation does not apply at a suppression hearing. The officer that actually stopped the defendant was not called as a witness by the government, so hearsay was admissible about the cause of the stop. United States v. Thompson, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 15389 (8th Cir. July 21, 2008): Thompson also complains that the city officer who actually stopped the Oldsmobile was not present at the hearing and did not testify as to why the Oldsmobile was stopped. "[T]he right of confrontation does not apply to the same extent at pretrial suppression hearings as it does at trial. '[T]he interests at stake in a suppression hearing are of a lesser magnitude than those in the criminal trial itself.'" United States v. Boyce, 797 F.2d 691, 693 (8th Cir...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 22, 2008 (boomark / email).