Criminal Law : Unavailable Witness – Admission Of Testimony –  Right To Confrontation

Where a defendant in an assault case challenged the admission of the preliminary hearing testimony of a witness who was not present for trial, the judgment is affirmed because the recording of the hearing showed that defense counsel had an adequate opportunity to cross examine the witness, so the defendant’s right to confrontation was not violated, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the witness was unavailable for trial where the facts showed that an investigator used reasonable diligence.

Judgment is affirmed.

State v. Rasmussen (MLW No. 71097/Case No. SD34652 – 7 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Rahmeyer, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Taney County, Johnson, J. (Garrick Aplin, Jefferson City, for respondent) (Christian Lehmberg, Columbia, for appellant).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)