Brown v. Epps, No. 11-60051 (5th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseA government informant set up a controlled drug deal with two unidentified men. Their conversations were recorded and admitted into evidence at Petitioner's trial in state court. Petitioner was subsequently convicted of the sale of cocaine as an aider and abettor. The intermediate appeals court reversed, concluding that the taped phone conversations constituted hearsay and that admitting them substantially prejudiced Petitioner, justifying a new trial. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and reinstated the the trial court's judgment. Petitioner then filed a federal habeas petition arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court's admission of the taped phone conversations violated his constitutional rights of confrontation and cross-examination. The federal district court granted Petitioner's petition in part, concluding that that Petitioner's constitutional rights to confront and cross-examine witnesses. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that the unidentified individuals' statements were nontestimonial, and therefore, the statements were not within the scope of the Confrontation Clause, and Petitioner's constitutional rights were not violated by their admission.
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