Bockting was convicted of sex abuse on his stepdaughter. The stepdaughter did not testify at trial, but a police interview with her was admitted. Her statements contradicted her testimony at the preliminary hearing that she did not remember what happened. The appellate court here reversed. Admission of the interview evidence violated Bockting’s constitutional right to confront and cross examine the witnesses against him under Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 U.S. 36. Crawford announced a “new rule” and therefore its retroactivity must be addressed. New rules apply retroactively only where it is “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty” such as watershed rules of criminal procedure. Crawford is both a “watershed rule” and one without which the likelihood of an accurate conviction is seriously diminished, and is therefore retroactive.
Case Summaries