Felix Martinez v. George Sullivan

Although I agree with the majority in all other respects, I respectfully dissent from its view that the prosecution acted in good faith in attempting to secure the presence of witness Sam Love, and that Love was “unavailable.” I am convinced that Felix Martinez was impermissibly deprived of his Sixth Amendment confrontation right, and I would grant his habeas petition contingent upon the State of New Mexico’s decision to conduct a new trial.

My concern about the majority’s treatment of the unavailability issue is twofold. First, its presentation of the facts does not include record evidence…