ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan law professor Richard D. Friedman and alumnus Jeffrey L. Fisher will appear before the United States Supreme Court on March 20 in two separate cases involving the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.

The Confrontation Clause, in part, involves the accuser’s right” to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

In the cases argued by Friedman and Fisher, each of the accused was convicted of a domestic violence charge based on an accusation made not through trial testimony but, respectively, by a 911 call and through a statement given to a responding police officer.

Friedman and Fisher will argue that the clause is violated when the police introduce” testimonial” information at trial rather than the complainant appearing in court, which would allow for the complainant to be confronted or cross-examined by the accused.

To prepare for the arguments, the two attorneys will practice (moot) their cases today (March 14) before a panel of faculty judges and student auditors at the U-M Law School.

An earlier state confrontation case—Crawford vs. Washington—was argued and won by Fisher in 2004.

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