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SCOTUS decides to dodge reconsideration of big confrontation clause issues

By Douglas A. Berman

Many criminal justice court-watchers were keeping a close eye on this term's seemingly big Sixth Amendment confrontation clause case, Briscoe v. Virginia, based on the notion that the case would give the Justice a new opportunity to examine la st year's controversial, 5-4 decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts.  But SCOTUS issued an opinion in Briscoe this morning that suggests that the Justices decided a dodge rather than a reconsideration is more appropriate right now.  Here is the full text of today's per curiam opinion in Briscoe: We vacate the judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia and remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with the opinion in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U. S. ___ (2009). Of course, as astute readers know, the Sixth Amendment's confrontation clause does not even technically apply in sentencing proceedings, so this is not formally a sentencing issue...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 25, 2010 (boomark / email).