Overruling a 1980 decision, the Supreme Court today strengthened the right of an accused to confront his accuser. The decision was written by Justice Scalia. Our favorite quote from the opinion:

``Dispensing with confrontation because testimony is obviously reliable is akin to dispensing with jury trial because a defendant is obviously guilty,'' Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the court. ``This is not what the Sixth Amendment requires.''

While the facts of the underlying case were not of national importance, the impact of the decision will be.

The ramifications of today's ruling may not become clear immediately, but they could affect a number of previous convictions across the country. The testimony of a witness who cannot be cross-examined during trial may still be allowed, but only if the defense has had a chance to cross-examine him or her at an earlier stage in the case.

The case is Crawford v. Washington, No. 02-9410 and you can read the full opinion here (pdf). The ACLU and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers ( NACDL) submitted amicus briefs in the case.

Update: The New York Times report on the decision is here. Scotus Blog has a detailed analysis as well.