Smith v. Arizona

Decided June 21, 2024. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 22-899 · 602 U.S. 779 · Cited 115 times

When an expert conveys an absent lab analyst’s statements in support of the expert’s opinion, and the statements provide that support only if true, then the statements come into evidence for their truth, and thus implicate the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov) (opens primary source in a new tab)

Elena Kagan’s profile · All opinions since October Term 2017 · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2024). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-02. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).