State v. Jefferson

Summary

The court held that the Georgia statute authorizing convictions of non-testifying non-parties to prove the existence of a criminal street gang and criminal gang activity violates the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause on its face. Because those convictions establish facts underlying the charged gang-related offense without permitting the accused to confront or cross-examine the relevant witnesses, the court affirmed the trial court's order declaring the statute unconstitutional to that extent.