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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural

Loaded on Feb. 15, 2025 by David Reutter published in Criminal Legal News March, 2025, page 48
Filed under: COVID-19, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Practitioner Exception. Location: Texas.

by David M. Reutter

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas held that a witness who covered a significant part of the expressive portion of her face with a surgical mask for her “comfort” constituted the denial of the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to fact-to-face confrontation.

The Court’s opinion was ...

 

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  1. Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, by Douglas Ankney, James Mills
  2. Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, by Sam Rutherford
  3. D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, by Anthony Accurso
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  7. Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, by Casey Bastian
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  14. First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, by David Reutter
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  20. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, by David Reutter
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