State v. Bryden R. Williams (070388)

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 10 of the New Jersey Constitution confer on a defendant the right to confront the witnesses against him. That right gives a defendant the opportunity to bar testimony in violation of the Confrontation Clause and the opportunity to cross-examine a witness. A defendant, however, is not obliged to exercise his confrontation right if doing so will harm his cause. As part of a reasonable defense strategy, he may waive his right of confrontation and choose not to object to testimony or choose not to cross-examine a…