Christensen v. State

Petitioner, William Dean Christensen (Christensen), was convicted of attempted rape by a Montgomery County jury after trial on that charge and charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to rape, assault and battery, and assault. The conviction was affirmed in Christensen v. State, 21 Md. App. 428, 320 A. 2d 276 (1974). We granted the writ of certiorari in order that we might consider Christensen’s contention that application of the “missing witness” rule in criminal cases is “an unconstitutional deprivation of the defendant’s right to confrontation and cross-examination as guaranteed under…