Hallums v. United States

I conclude that even if the identification at issue in this case came within the exception for present sense impressions — a close issue I do not decide — the statement was admitted in violation of the Confrontation Clause, and the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, I would reverse appellant’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

I. Identifications.

We are dealing here with the admission of a hearsay identification without the de-clarant available for cross-examination. Statements of identification are more likely than other statements describing an observed event to…