Dawn Marie Guevara v. United States

The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” This Clause guarantees a defendant the right to confront those “who ‘bear testimony’ against her.” Crawford v. Washington, 41 U.S. 36, 51 (2004). A witness's testimony is thus inadmissible unless the witness appears at trial or, if the witness is unavailable, the defendant had a prior opportunity for crossexamination. Id., at 54. Confrontation Clause violations are reviewed for harmless error. The following question is presented: 1. Whether a reviewing court can properly conclude a confrontation clause violation is harmless when it fails to consider the impact of the erroneously admitted evidence on the jury’s verdict?