Samia v. United States
View Official PDFBelow are plain-language sections to help you understand what the Court decided in Samia v. United States and why it matters. Quotes are taken from the syllabus (the Court’s short summary at the start of the opinion).
Summary
A short, plain-English overview of Samia v. United States.
In Samia v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed whether the admission of a nontestifying codefendant's confession violated the Confrontation Clause. The confession was redacted to remove the defendant's name and accompanied by a limiting instruction. The Court found that this did not violate the defendant's confrontation rights.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in Samia v. United States.
The Court held that the Confrontation Clause was not violated by the admission of a nontestifying codefendant's confession that did not directly inculpate the defendant and was subject to a proper limiting instruction.
Constitutional Concepts
These are the Constitution-related themes that appear in Samia v. United States. Click a concept to see other cases that involve the same idea.
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Why Confrontation of Witnesses is relevant to Samia v. United States
The case primarily deals with the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment, determining whether the admission of a nontestifying codefendant's confession violated the defendant's confrontation rights.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)Held: The Confrontation Clause was not violated by the admission of a nontestifying codefendant's confession that did not directly inculpate the defendant and was subject to a proper limiting instruction.
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in Samia v. United States that support the summary and concepts above.
The Confrontation Clause was not violated by the admission of a nontestifying codefendant's confession.
Stillwell's confession was redacted to avoid naming Samia, satisfying Bruton's rule.
The neutral references to some 'other person' were not akin to an obvious blank or the word 'deleted.'
