US Supreme Court Finds Video Testimony Proposal of Dubious Validity
On April 29, the US Supreme Court took the unusual step of refusing to transmit to Congress a court rule approved by the Judicial Conference.  By a vote of 7-2, the Court refused to approve proposed Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 26(b), which would have allowed two-way video testimony in criminal trials in certain circumstances, with appropriate safeguards, where the witness is unavailable.  Justice Scalia filed a statement on behalf of the majority, calling the proposal "of dubious validity under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment . . . ."  Stressing the importance of face-to-face confrontation, Scalia stated: "Virtual confrontation might be sufficient to protect virtual constitutional rights; I doubt whether it is sufficient to protect real ones."  Justice Breyer, joined by Justice O'Connor, issued a dissenting statement, arguing that the Court's unusual step of refusing to transmit the rule proposal to Congress, the Court "deprived litigants, judges, and the public of technology that will help to create trial procedures that are both more efficient and more fair."  11:07:36 AM