Supreme Court of the United States
Williams v. Illinois
June 18, 2012
Summary
The Court affirmed the judgment of the Illinois Supreme Court, holding that an expert witness may testify to a DNA match without violating the Confrontation Clause even if the expert relies on an outside laboratory report that was not admitted into evidence, because the report was not offered for the truth of the matter asserted. Alternatively, the Court concluded that even if the report were offered for its truth, it was not testimonial because it was not prepared for the primary purpose of accusing a targeted individual.