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Melendez-Diaz not as scary as the Washington Post thinks

The Washington Post today published a "sky is falling" critique of the Supreme Court's decision in Melendez-Diaz that the Confrontation Clause in the Sixth Amendment requires an opportunity to cross-examine crime lab workers who prepare reports for trial. According to the Post ("Lab analyst decision complicates prosecutions, July 15):"This is the biggest case for the defense since Miranda," said Fairfax defense lawyer Paul L. McGlone, referring to the Supreme Court ruling that required police to inform defendants of their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He said judges "are no longer going to assume certain facts are true without requiring the prosecution to actually put on their evidence."Four drunken driving cases in Fairfax and at least one in Prince William County have been thrown out by judges after defense attorneys used the new ruling to challenge the prosecution's evidence...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).