Barraza

ORDER REGARDING APPLICABILITY OF CRAWFORD v. WASHINGTON

I. Introduction

Defendant Ricardo Barraza is charged with violating the conditions of his unsupervised release. This order addresses the limited issue of whether, pursuant to Crawford v. Washington, — U.S. —, 124 S.Ct. 1354 , 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), it is a violation of defendant Barraza’s right to confrontation for the court to consider the hearsay testimony of Blanca Barraza, defendant Barraza’s wife, in determining whether defendant Barraza has violated the conditions of his release. For the reasons set forth below, the court concludes that Crawford is inapplicable in a release revocation proceeding.

II. Background

It is alleged that on or about July 28, 2003, defendant Barraza was in possession of a firearm, committed assault with a deadly weapon, and made threats involving death and serious bodily injury. At the revocation hearing, the government presented the hearsay statements of Blanca Barraza, who was not available for cross-examination at the hearing because she invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent as well as the marital privilege. Subsequent to the hearing, the Supreme Court decided Crawford . The…