Pitts v. Mississippi

Welcome to Supreme Court Opinions. In this episode, you’ll hear the Court’s opinion in Pitts v. Mississippi. In this case, The Court considered whether the trial court violated the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause by allowing a child witness to testify behind a physical screen without first holding a case-specific hearing and making a case-specific finding of necessity, as required by Coy v. Iowa and Maryland v. Craig.In other words, the issue was: Does the Sixth Amendment permit a child witness to be screened from the defendant based solely on a mandatory state statute, without evidence or a case-specific judicial finding that such screening is necessary to prevent trauma?The Supreme Court held no—a mandatory statute isn’t enough; the trial court must hear evidence and make a case-specific necessity finding.The case was decided on November 24, 2025. The opinion is presented here in its entirety, but with citations omitted. If you appreciate this episode, please subscribe. Thank you.