Opinion ID: 1057999
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: United States Constitution and Tennessee Constitution

Text: We also conclude that the defendant's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation was not violated by the admission of the former testimony of Brewer and Litz. In Crawford v. Washington , the United States Supreme Court held that the Confrontation Clause bars the admission of testimonial statements by an unavailable witness unless the defendant has had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness. 541 U.S. at 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354. With respect to testimonial statements, the Court held that the Sixth Amendment demands what the common law required: unavailability and a prior opportunity for cross-examination. Id. Thus, Crawford placed restrictions similar to Rule 804(b)(1) on the admission of testimonial statements. The defendant concedes that Crawford's cross-examination prong is met; however, he continues to argue that the witnesses were not unavailable. Crawford does not address the use of hearsay at sentencing. The United States Supreme Court has never expressly held that the Sixth Amendment right to confrontation does not apply at sentencing; however, the various circuit courts of appeal have repeatedly so held. [11] The United States Supreme Court decision usually cited for this principle is Williams v. New York, 337 U.S. 241, 69 S.Ct. 1079, 93 L.Ed. 1337 (1949), a capital case decided on due process grounds and involving fully discretionary sentencing by a judge. The continuing validity of Williams has been questioned. See, e.g., Susan N. Herman, The Tail that Wagged the Dog: Bifurcated Fact-Finding under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the Limits of Due Process, 66 S. Cal. L.Rev. 289, 317-21 (1992); Alan C. Michaels, Trial Rights at Sentencing, 81 N.C. L.Rev. 1771, 1837-39 (2003). However, the federal appellate courts continue to hold that the Sixth Amendment right of confrontation does not apply at sentencing, even after Crawford. See United States v. Stone, 432 F.3d 651, 654 (6th Cir.2005) (stating that Crawford does not change prior rule that confrontation clause does not apply to sentencing); United States v. Chau, 426 F.3d 1318, 1322-23 (11th Cir. 2005) (refusing to consider Crawford's application at sentencing as plain error and noting that other circuit courts have unanimously held that Crawford does not alter the previous rule that the Confrontation Clause does not apply at sentencing hearings); United States v. Monteiro, 417 F.3d 208, 215 (1st Cir.2005); United States v. Roche, 415 F.3d 614, 618 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Luciano, 414 F.3d 174, 179 (1st Cir.2005); United States v. Fleck, 413 F.3d 883, 894 (8th Cir.2005). Even if the Confrontation Clause were deemed to apply to capital sentencing proceedings, the defendant's rights under that clause were not violated. The United States Supreme Court, in Crawford, stated that [w]here testimonial statements are at issue, the only indicium of reliability sufficient to satisfy constitutional demands is the one the Constitution actually prescribes: confrontation. 541 U.S. at 68-69, 124 S.Ct. 1354. Here, although the witnesses were not present at sentencing, the defendant had the opportunity to confront both witnesses at trial, and the entire cross-examination of each witness was read to the jury during the resentencing hearing. Moreover, the defendant's own statement to police was sufficient to support the jury's finding of the (i)(4) aggravating circumstance. The Tennessee Constitution requires face-to-face confrontation; thus, it affords a defendant greater constitutional protection than does the United States Constitution. See State v. Deuter, 839 S.W.2d 391, 395 (Tenn.1992). Nonetheless, we also conclude that the right to confrontation under the Tennessee Constitution did not bar the admission of the former testimony of Brewer and Litz during the penalty phrase. This conclusion is consistent with our previous observation that the admission of hearsay evidence during sentencing under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-204(c) and its predecessors does not violate the right to confrontation. See State v. Smith, 857 S.W.2d 1, 23 (Tenn.1993). Furthermore, we note that the defendant had the opportunity to confront Brewer and Litz face-to-face during the guilt phase of this capital case.