Supreme Court Won’t Clarify Scope of Confrontation Clause

The US Supreme Court refused to clarify the scope of a criminal defendant’s right to confront witnesses against them.

In a case the justices turned away Monday, New York courts took a narrow view of what statements fall within the Sixth Amendment right.

The Supreme Court’s landmark 2004 decision in Crawford v. Washington said that hearsay—an out of court statement offered to prove the truth of what’s asserted—is generally inadmissible if it’s “testimonial.” But the court didn’t define what that meant, and as recently as last term declined to clarify it.

The state court in Franklin v New York, said ...