Michael D. Crawford v. Washington (541 U.S. 36)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 8, 2004 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 541 U.S. 36 · 124 S. Ct. 1354
- Decided
- March 8, 2004
- Term
- October Term 2003
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Scalia
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner Michael Crawford stabbed a man who allegedly tried to rape his wife, Sylvia. At his trial, the State played for the jury Sylvia’s tape-recorded statement to the police describing the stabbing, even though he had no opportunity for cross-examination. The Washington Supreme Court upheld petitioner’s conviction after determining that Sylvia’s statement was reliable. The question presented is whether this procedure complied with the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee that, “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” I On August 5,1999, Kenneth Lee was stabbed at his apartment. Police arrested petitioner later that night. After giving petitioner and his wife Miranda warnings, detectives interrogated each of them twice. Petitioner eventually confessed that he and Sylvia had gone in search of Lee because he was upset over an earlier incident in which Lee had tried to rape her. The two had found Lee at his apartment, and a fight ensued in which Lee was stabbed in the torso and petitioner’s hand was cut. Petitioner gave the following account of the fight: “Q. Okay. Did you ever see anything in [Lee’s] hands? “A. I think so, but I’m not positive. “Q. Okay, when you think so, what do you mean by that? “A. I could a swore I seen him goin’ for somethin’…
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