Criminal Law-Right of Confrontation
A defendant in any criminal case has the right to confront his or her accusers. This right of confrontation means that the defendant has an absolute right to be present at trial. If the defendant engages in outrageous behavior, then he or she can be restrained or placed in a separate room where he or she can see and hear the proceedings but not disrupt them. That, however, is a rather extraordinary measure in a criminal case.
That right of confrontation also means that the defense has a rather broad right as far as cross examining those witnesses who testify against the defendant. In addition, that right of confrontation restricts the right of the government to put in evidence statements of persons who do not testify at trial. Such statements generally would be classified as hearsay and therefore would not be admissible. In a criminal case those hearsay statements further become objectionable because they may violate the defendant’s right to confront his or her accusers.
