Page 197 - North Carolina 2020 Legal Guide
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Task: Statements Made by Victims and Witnesses
Michigan v. Bryant, 131 S. Ct. 1143 (2011).
In deciding whether out of court statements violate the confrontations
clause a court must determine the ‘primary purpose of the
interrogation’ by objectively evaluating the statements and actions of
the parties to the encounter, in light of the circumstances in which the
interrogation occurs. The existence of an emergency or the parties'
perception that an emergency is ongoing is among the most important
circumstances that courts must take into account in determining
whether an interrogation is testimonial because statements made to
assist police in addressing an ongoing emergency presumably lack the
testimonial purpose that would subject them to the requirement of
confrontation.
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