The Ninth Circuit today issued an interesting, if quirky, opinion on the issue of the right to cross-examine lab technicians in United States v. Perez, No. 07-10289. The issue arose in the context of supervised release revocation, not criminal trial, and the opinion by Judge Carlos Bea cautions, "this is an unusual case with unusual facts and should not be taken out of context. We do not hold that a releasee always has a right to cross-examine the technician who tested a urine sample." In this case, though, she did have that right.

The distinct question of "Whether a state forensic analyst’s laboratory report prepared for use in a criminal prosecution is 'testimonial' evidence subject to the demands of the Confrontation Clause as set forth in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004)," will be decided next term by the Supreme Court in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, No. 07-591.