A Comment on the Supreme Court's Decision in Ohio v. Clark: The Court's Confrontation Clause Jurisprudence Evolves

Abstract

In Ohio v. Clark, decided this week, the U.S. Supreme Court held admissible in defendant’s criminal trial for child abuse, a teacher’s testimony that the three-year-old victim, upon being pressed for an answer, told his pre-school teacher that the defendant was responsible for the physical abuse noted by the teachers on the child. This on-the-stand report of the child’s out-of-court statement, was admissible even though the child did not take the witness stand for possible cross examination and jury scrutiny of his demeanor to gauge his accuracy.

Keywords: criminal law, constitutional law, Supreme Court, Confrontation Clause, testimonies

JEL Classification: K00, K30, K39