Confrontation Clause (Issue Concerning Statements of Deceased Victim)

Unless otherwise indicated, all indented material is copied directly from the court’s opinion.

Decisions of the Tennessee Supreme Court 

Decisions of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Morton, No. E2019-01755-CCA-R3-CD, p. 28  (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. June 27, 2022).

In Tennessee, criminal defendants are entitled to confront witnesses against them under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution. The exercise of the right to confront “is controlled by the trial judge,” and “the trial court’s decision will be upheld absent an abuse of discretion.” State v. Rice, 184 S.W.3d 646, 670 (Tenn. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).