Brief filed: 06/22/2012
Documents
Allshouse v. Pennsylvania
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 11-1407
Argument(s)
Statements to child services workers are testimonial in nature. Child services workers are under a legal obligation to submit detailed reports to law enforcement officials when they suspect abuse. This legal obligation, as well as their role in law enforcement investigations, shapes their interviews, even though children are particularly susceptible to suggestion during questioning. Since the primary purpose of child services workers’ investigations is to gather evidence for use in future criminal prosecutions, statements of questionable reliability made to them are testimonial under the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause.
Author(s)
Stephen A. Miller and Brian Kint, Cozen O’Connor, Philadelphia, PA and Jeffrey T. Green, Sidley Austin, Washington, DC.