Washington and Lee Law Review Volume 48 | Issue 4 Article 5 Fall 9-1-1991 The Right Of Confrontation, Justice Scalia, And The oP wer And Limits Of Textualism Bryan H. Wildenthal Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Criminal Law Commons Recommended Citation Bryan H. Wildenthal, The Right Of Confrontation, Justice Scalia, And The Power And Limits Of Textualism, 48 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1323 (1991), https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/ vol48/iss4/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington and Lee Law Review at Washington & Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington and Lee Law Review by an authorized editor of Washington & Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE RIGHT OF CONFRONTATION, JUSTICE SCALIA, AND THE POWER AND LIMITS OF TEXTUALISM BRYAN H. WLDENTHAL* I. INTRODUCTION In the most compelling scene of the highest-rated television movie of the 1988-89 season, the protagonist, a victim of child sexual abuse, is required to testify about his ordeal at a public trial. As he faces hundreds of strangers, his family, his girlfriend, and the accused abuser himself, the prosecutor coaxes him to describe the most degrading and personal aspects of his ordeal. Haltingly, agonizingly, barely able to speak, he tries.1 It is * Admitted to Michigan Bar, 1990. J.D., Stanford, 1989; Senior Editor, Stanford Law Review, 1988-89; A.B.