United States v. Eddie Lee Stone

THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal from a conviction for possession of stolen mail we must decide whether the government violated the hearsay rule and the defendant’s right of confrontation when the government used an affidavit instead of live testimony for the purpose of explaining how an official record demonstrated that the Treasury Department mailed a check that the defendant later had in his possession. We find that this special use of the affidavit violates the hearsay rule and the defendant’s confrontation right. This violation does not require a reversal, however, because under…