ABSTRACT
The Confrontation Clause guarantees that the defendant is permitted to be present when witnesses appear before the "trier of fact". When a prosecution witness is hailed into court, two issues emerge in the confrontation context. First, when is the defendant denied a face-to-face encounter with that witness; second, to what extent may the cross-examination of the witness be denied? The majority opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia, who drew from a wealth of historical and linguistic sources, emphasized that the Confrontation Clause guaranteed the defendant a face-to-face meeting. The Supreme Court thus carved out a judicial exception to the Confrontation Clause-namely, if other elements or alternative means of confrontation are present, the traditional "plain meaning" rule regarding the Confrontation Clause would be deemed satisfied. The Confrontation Clause is a fundamental constitutional right designed to protect both the innocent and the guilty.
