Supreme Court & 911

Just in…the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that statements made by crime victims during 911 calls and taped by logging recorders are admissible in a later trial, even if the caller does not testify in person in court. The unanimous 9-0 decision came in response to a Washington state incident where the female victim of domestic violence disappeared, but the prosecutor presented the 911 tapes to prove the case against the male defendant. The court made a distinction between calls made to 911 during an emergency, and other, later, conversation-type calls, saying 911 calls are not formal statements or testimony to police, but rather a call for help, and the defendant doesn’t have a constitutional right to confront that person at trial. The decision reinforces the importance of obtaining full information from 911 callers, not only to provide valuable information for responders, but for any later court action. Download (pdf) the court’s decision here.