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Trial by Certificate: Are Lab Reports Testimonial?

By Melody Evans and Kirk Redmond

The answer seems obvious to most defense attorneys, yet prosecutors routinely try to bypass witness testimony by just offering the report. Now the US Supreme Court has granted cert. in Melendez-Diaz v. Mass. to determine whether the certificates of forensic lab reports are testimonial under Crawford. Here is the cert petition.ScotusBlog's excellent review Crime labs and the Confrontation Clause gives the details of the case, and reports state court conflicting opinions. Scotus Wiki (coolest resource ever) is here.Prof Richard Friedman has blogged about this issue on his Confrontation Blog and submitted an amicus brief on this issue. He warns in his brief that: "Trial by certificate will become a prominent fixture in [our justice system]...continue to full post

Full post as published by Kansas Federal Defender on March 26, 2008 (boomark / email).