Just an update on Williams v. Illinois, No. 10-8505, a case that I mentioned in yesterday’s post.  After taking some time to read the lengthy opinion (98 pages!), I wanted to say that every criminal defense and criminal appellate lawyer in South Florida should take the time to read Justice Kagan’s dissent.  The dissent exposes numerous flaws in the rationale of the plurality opinion, and does so with logic and style.  Yes, a 98-page opinion can seem daunting, but you’ll see that the reading really passes quickly.  Just keep in mind the big picture: the Justices are squabbling over whether the admission of the lab technician’s testimony violated the Confrontation Clause under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U. S. 36 (2004), Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U. S. 305 (2009), and Bullcoming v. New Mexico, 564 U. S. — (2011).  Happy reading!