The Confronatation Clause and Forensic Testimony

If you have been charged with crime involving alchohol or drugs, then a recent US Supreme Court decision will be a useful tool in your attorney's toolbox.The US Supreme Court just recently found in Melendez- Diaz v. Massachusetts that the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause does not permit the State to introduce a forensic laboratory report with a testimonal certification into evidence as proof in a criminal trial through a forensic analyst who did neither signed the certification nor witnessed the test conducted in the certification. 

This means that as a Defendant, you have the right to confont the analyst who performed the who made the certification that the State would like to use against you.  If for example the analyst in your DUI case certified that your blood alchohol level was above the legal limit, then you would have the right to confront the analyst who made that certification.