Recent United States Supreme Court Holding
On June 25, 2009 the United States Supreme Court held that laboratory analysts (unless otherwise provided by law) must testify in person during court proceedings when identifying illegal substances. No longer will the prosecution be allowed to simply introduce notarized certificates prepared by the laboratory analysts to identify the alleged illegal substances.
The Court held that admission of the certificates violated the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. The law provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right … to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” Therefore, a witness’s testimony against a defendant is thus inadmissible unless the witness appears at trial or, if the witness is unavailable, the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination.
