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Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974)
Davis v. Alaska No. 72-5794 Argued December 12, 1973 Decided February 27, 1974 415 U.S. 308
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF ALASKA
Syllabus
Petitioner was convicted of grand larceny and burglary following a trial in which the trial court, on motion of the prosecution, issued a protective order prohibiting questioning Green, a key prosecution witness, concerning Green’s adjudication as a juvenile delinquent relating to a burglary and his probation status at the time of the events as to which he was to testify. The trial court’s order was based on state provisions protecting the anonymity of juvenile offenders. The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed.
Held: Petitioner was denied his right of confrontation of witnesses under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Pp. 315-321.
(a) The defense was entitled to attempt to show that Green was biased because of his vulnerable status as a probationer and his concern that he might be a suspect in the burglary charged against petitioner, and limiting the cross-examination of Green precluded the defense from showing his possible bias. Pp. 315-318.
(b) Petitioner’s right of confrontation is paramount to the State’s policy of protecting juvenile offenders, and any temporary embarrassment to Green by disclosure of his juvenile court record and probation status is outweighed by petitioner’s right effectively to cross-examine a witness. Pp. 319-320.
499 P.2d 1025, reversed and remanded.
BURGER, C.J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which DOUGLAS, BRENNAN, STEWART, MARSHALL, BLACKMUN, and POWELL, JJ., joined. STEWART, J., filed a concurring statement, post, p. 321. WHITE, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which REHNQUIST, J., joined, post, p. 321.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974) in 415 U.S. 308 415 U.S. 309. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=EPDDHXJLUZBWHV6.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974), in 415 U.S. 308, page 415 U.S. 309. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=EPDDHXJLUZBWHV6.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974). cited in 1974, 415 U.S. 308, pp.415 U.S. 309. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=EPDDHXJLUZBWHV6.
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