The US and Missouri Constitutions guarantee a criminal defendant's right to confront the witnesses against him or her in open court. The pandemic sent courts scrambling for ways to hold trials while protecting litigants, jurors, lawyers, and court staff. Remote appearances by video were quickly adopted, but raised the question of whether a defendant's right to confrontation was satisfied when a witness appeared by video over the defendant's objection. In 2022, in State v. Smith, the Supreme Court of Missouri held that two-way video testimony violates confrontation. Since then, there has been a plethora of litigation concerning confrontation. This session will review the Smith case and opinion, as well as other recent opinions involving confrontation, as well as statutory considerations. In addition, attendees will learn about emerging confrontation issues and receive sample motions to challenge these emerging issues.
You will learn:
Speaker: Nina McDonnell, McDonnell Appeals, LLC, Clayton
Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.