Background
Defendant José Cartagena, a police officer, was convicted for using excessive force against a teenager and for falsifying reports to cover up the incident. The government introduced a hearsay statement from the victim during trial.
The court’s reasoning
The court found that the admission of a hearsay statement from the victim, who was unavailable for cross-examination, violated the Confrontation Clause regarding one count. However, the evidence was sufficient to support the remaining convictions for excessive force and obstruction.
We vacate his conviction on the one count for which that statement was important to the Government’s case.
What it means going forward
Convictions for excessive force and obstruction stand, but one count is vacated due to constitutional error regarding witness testimony.
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