Brief filed: 07/30/2010
Documents
Smith v. United States
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 10-18
Prior Decision
Decision below, 68 M.J. 445 (C.A.A.F. 2010).
Argument(s)
There is a conflict in the federal circuits as to whether a trial court’s restriction of a defendant’s ability to cross-examine his accuser is to be reviewed de novo on appeal or for abuse of discretion; the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces reviews a military judge's decision to admit or exclude evidence for an abuse of discretion. The Court should resolve this conflict because it implicates an issue of fundamental importance, the scope of a defendant’s constitutional right to confront his accusers.
Author(s)
Jonathan L. Marcus, Gregory M. Lipper and Jennifer Reid Whitfield, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC.