Steven Vicario v. Ohio

Under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), there is generally no Confrontation Clause violation if a hearsay declarant testifies at trial. But situations may arise where the defendant nonetheless did not have a meaningful opportunity to cross-examine the declarant. Here, the trial court delayed ruling on a motion in limine to exclude testimonial hearsay until after the declarant testified. The court then erroneously admitted the hearsay under the rules of evidence. Thus, at the time of the declarant’s testimony, the defense did not know if the trial court would admit the hearsay and thus could not cross-examine her without introducing inadmissible hearsay. The Question Presented Is: Does the erroneous admission of testimonial hearsay under these circumstances deprive the defendant of a meaningful opportunity for cross-examination and thus violate the Confrontation Clause?