Roalson v. Noble

Plaintiff filed a collateral challenge in federal court to his state court conviction for murder. Plaintiff argued that the trial court denied his right to confront a witness when it allowed a laboratory analyst to testify based on the work of another analyst who was not available to testify at trial. The district court denied the plaintiff’s habeas petition and he appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the trial court did not err when it concluded that the testifying analyst’s opinions were her own and based on her review of the evidence and that even if there was an error it was not substantial enough to grant plaintiff the requested relief. (KIRSCH and LEE, concurring)