Crawford v. Washington, Revisited Confrontation Or Not, Dont Forget To Duck, Man

Abstract

Picture this: It’s Friday afternoon, the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday for those in retail. You are relaxed and confident. Your tenure application at the university has so far sailed through without a hitch. It seems that all that publishing you have done has kept you from perishing, academically, that is. A knock comes to your faculty office door, and two suits flashing tin enter. They are from the Organized Commission for Reparations in Academic Plagiarism, otherwise known as: OCRAP. A somewhat obscure quasi-federal agency set up under the Carter Administration, a visit from them often spells academic doom. It seems that they have received a bevy of unsolicited e-mails accusing you of the academically unforgivable offence of using other researchers’ material without attribution. You ask the key question: “WHO?” Their response is that that information is confidential, and unavailable to you. They serve you with a notice that a hearing will be held before Christmas, at the U. S. Courthouse, Foley Square, New York, N. Y. Your first reaction is that you need to contact a lawyer. Ironically, you quickly realize, that you are a lawyer. Something in the back of your mind tells you that you have to have the ability to confront your accusers; something perhaps in the Constitution? Maybe the time is ripe to go back and revisit the “confrontation” aspect of your present situation.