United States v. Esparza
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
791 F.3d 1067 (2015)
Border agents found over 50 kilograms of marijuana hidden in a car driven by Arturo Esparza (defendant) at the U.S.-Mexico border; the car was registered to Diana Hernandez. After the government sent Hernandez a notice that the car was being seized because of the drugs, Hernandez filed a notice with the DMV stating she had sold the car to Esparza before his arrest. At trial, Esparza claimed he had merely borrowed the car from a friend and did not know about the marijuana. The government introduced the DMV notice, though Hernandez herself was available and present at the courthouse but was never called to testify, denying Esparza any chance to cross-examine her about the statement.
Whether the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment generally prohibits introducing testimonial out-of-court statements unless the defendant has the chance to cross-examine the person who made them.