State of Minnesota v. Anthony James Trifiletti

Syllabus

1. Because the State failed to establish that a witness would not have been available to testify in person at some reasonable point in time during the trial, the district court erred in determining that a witness against the defendant was unavailable under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 6, of the Minnesota Constitution. 2. The defendant did not invite the district court's error in determining that a witness against him was unavailable under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 6, of the Minnesota Constitution. 3. The district court's error in determining that a witness was unavailable under the Confrontation Clause was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Reversed.