Friday, April 27, 2007

Crawford case requires Witness must appear in court to testify. State v Buda __ N.J. Super. __ (App. Div. 2006) Appellate Division, A-4778-04T4

An excited utterance made by a child abuse victim to a DYFS worker at a hospital, although admissible under state evidence law, is inadmissible in this case as a result of evolving federal constitutional jurisprudence under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S. Ct. 1354, 158 L. Ed. 2d 177 (2004), and Davis v. Washington, __ U.S. __, 126 S. Ct. 2266, 165 L. Ed. 2d 224 (2006).