Justices affirm Crawford’s application of Sixth Amendment confrontation clause to testimonial evidence

Justices affirm <em>Crawford</em>’s application of Sixth Amendment confrontation clause to testimonial evidence

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Thursday’s decision in Hemphill v. New York affirmed the requirement for cross-examination of testimonial statements offered at trial and rejected a state law exception  to the rule. A jury convicted Darrell Hemphill of second-degree murder after a trial court admitted un-cross-examined testimonial statements from a third-party’s plea allocution. New York courts agreed the admission did not violate Crawford v. Washington, which interpreted the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause to require cross-examination of testimonial statements offered at trial. But in … Read the rest

In First Amendment challenge to city billboard rules, justices will be sign language interpreters

In First Amendment challenge to city billboard rules, justices will be sign language interpreters

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In 2015, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that an Arizona town could not impose different restrictions on the display of temporary signs based on the messages they conveyed. The justices did not agree on the rationale for their ruling in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, however, and Justice Elena Kagan warned that the Supreme Court could become “a veritable Supreme Board of Sign Review.” On Wednesday, that board will be in session.

The case, City of Austin v. Read the rest