Our constitution provides multiple rights and restrictions to those facing trial. The right to confrontation outlined in the 6th Amendment of our constitution, states the following: to be confronted with the witnesses against him. The right to confrontation means that defendants have the right to visibly see (face to face) and hear the witnesses/accusers that are testifying against them in court. The accused have this right to prevent three things. To prevent hearsay, ex parte testimonies, and so that the jury can judge from the demeanor of the witness, their truthfulness. Hearsay is evidence based on the reports of others rather than the personal knowledge of a witness; bear in mind there are exceptions to the hearsay rule. Ex parte would be any testimonies where the defense is absent and unable to cross- examine leaving what could be a very leading testimony.
In 1965 the Supreme Court was mostly concerned with preventing hearsay and making sure all witnesses were cross- examined when it came to the right of confrontation. In Pointer vs. Texas the complaining witness had testified in a preliminary hearing, where he was not cross-examined. When the trial date came the witness had moved to another state and no attempt was made to retrieve him, so his testimony was read during the actual trial, violating the defendant's 6th amendment rights. .
In recent times the right to confrontation has become controversial in cases of child rape or molestation. In some cases the trauma of a rape or molestation can be relived by having to visibly see the accused again. For example in the case of Craig vs. Maryland, closed circuit T.V was allowed in the courtroom for, "the judge determined that testimony by the child in the courtroom would result in the child's suffering serious emotional distress such that the child could not reasonably communicate." The witness, prosecutor and defense counsel went to another room where the witness gave testimony, while the judge, jury and accused remained in the courtroom, while a video monitor recorded and displayed the witness' testimony to those in the courtroom.
Introduction With the end of the Cold War, several domestic conflicts have exploded throughout the world as well as a proliferation in the number of negotiations attempting to settle these conflicts. Many scholars investigating this new phenomena have concluded that there has been a transition fr...
