The Supreme Court of the United States reversed the New Mexico Supreme Court because, "As a rule, if an out-of-court statement is testimonial in nature, it may not be introduced against the accused at trial unless the witness who made the statement is unavailable and the accused has had a prior opportunity to confront that witness." A prosecutor in a DWI case called an analyst to testify about work another analyst did on a blood sample which they used to prove the defendant was driving while intoxicated. The defendant objected. Failure to call the analyst who actually worked on the case was a violation of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. Read the decision here.
If you are accused of a crime or have been convicted already, contact me if you can afford to hire a private criminal defense lawyer. Otherwise, contact your county or state public defender to see if they can help.
