North Carolina Criminal Law Updates
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused (the defendant in criminal charges) the right to be confronted with the witnesses against them. That right is not always satisfied by merely cross-examining a substitute analyst or expert witness. Under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), testimonial hearsay may be inadmissible against the accused unless the declarant is unavailable and the defense had a prior opportunity for cross-examination.
Under Smith v. Arizona, 602 U.S. 779 (2024), an absent analyst’s statements offered in support of a testifying expert’s opinion are offered for their truth when the opinion works only if those statements are true.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals addressed related confrontation issues in State v. Phillips, COA25-864 (N.C. Ct. App. May 6, 2026), a published decision involving Confrontation Clause, hearsay, surrogate witness, expert testimony, testimonial evidence, improper vouching testimony, and Rule 701 questions.