In Walker v. Hadi, No. 09-15701 (June 4, 2010), the Court held that, in a habeas proceeding challenging a Florida civil commitment order classifying Walker as a sexually violent predator, Walker could not show error based on the violation of his right to cross- examine witnesses, under Crawford v. Washington, because it is not “clearly established” that Crawford rights exist in civil commitment proceedings.
The Court noted that AEDPA bars relief for habeas petitioners unless they can show an unreasonable application of “clearly established” law as determined by the Supreme Court. However, to date the Supreme Court has not addressed whether Crawford protections, which exist in criminal proceedings, also exist in civil commitment proceedings. Thus, the state court which denied Walker Crawford protections did not violate “clearly established” law.
