UCLA School of Law

In the well-known Crawford decision, the United States Supreme Court severed the relationship between the hearsay rule and the right of confrontation by limiting the scope of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to "testimonial" statements. In subsequent decision, the Court appeared to retreat from this anti-fusionist stance. In 2009 in Massacusetts v. Melendez-Diaz the majority opinion restated and strengthened the revolution promised by Crawford. This essay, which will appear sometime in 2010 as § 6371.4 of 30A Wright and Graham, Federal Practice and Procedure: Evidence (Supplement 2010) analyzes the Melendez-Diaz majority opinion in light of the briefs, the oral argument, and the fallout from the Court's prior confrontation decisions.