This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Richard Hudson (D) was charged with two counts of conspiracy related to drug dealing. D impugned the motives of the government witnesses against D and had painted each of them in the darkest possible hue. When D was ready to present his case, the government asked for a sidebar. The government wanted the two witnesses to testify first outside the presence of the jury in order to determine if their testimony was hearsay. D presented that the witnesses were inmates where Henry Cormier and James Hudson had been held. The witnesses would testify that they heard Cormier tell James that D had nothing to do with drugs but that he was angry with D over a gambling debt. At the sidebar, the issue of hearsay was discussed, and D suggested that they could come in under prior inconsistent statement. The witnesses testified voir dire, and the court sustained the government’s hearsay objection. D was convicted and appealed.

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