News & Events
Membership Alert
To: MACDL members
From: Randy S. Chapman, President
Re: Crawford and Drug/Gun Certifications
All criminal defense attorneys should be aware of a recent development regarding drug and gun certificates. In a case that MACDL joined in an amicus brief, the United States Supreme Court recently granted cert.
The underlying case is Commonwealth v. Melendez-Diaz, 69 Mass.App.Ct. 1114 (2007). It is an unpublished decision from the Appeals Court that rejected the defendant's claim that the introduction of a drug certification denied him the right to confrontation as articulated in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004). The Appeals Court applied the 2005 holding of the SJC that drug certs are admissible, notwithstanding Crawford. See Commonwealth v. Verde, 444 Mass. 279 (2005).
Until the USSC decides Melendez-Diaz, defense counsel should object to the admissibility of any drug or gun certifications, and be sure that the issue is preserved . The arguments for exclusion are well articulated in the Brief of Amici Curiae.