This summer, the United States Supreme Court addressed an issue relating to the government’s use of a lab certificate in a drug prosecution where the certification identified the weight of the substance and its type, viz., cocaine.  The defendant objected to the admission of the certification, claiming that it would offend his Sixth Amendment right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.  The objection was overruled at the trial level.  The trial court concluded that the certification was an admissible form of hearsay under the court’s rules of evidence. The case ultimately found its way to the United States Supreme Court.  

In reviewing the trial court’s ruling, the Supreme Court looked to the case of Crawford v. Washington, which was decided by the court approximately five years ago and concluded that a lab certification was testimonial in nature and that the author of the certification was a witness for purposes of Sixth Amendment analysis.  Resultantly, the court reversed the defendant’s conviction. In rendering its decision, however, the court noted that if the author of the certification was unavailable to testify, and the petitioner had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the author, the principles of the Sixth Amendment may have been satisfied.