In this essay, we consider the potential implications of Davis on two issues relevant to child abuse cases: how the Court's new test for "testimonial" might apply when the statements are by a child claiming abuse and whether statements to non-law enforcement personnel can ever be testimonial. We then briefly identify a few of the many questions left unanswered by the decision. Though Davis certainly has implications for child abuse cases, true clarity will have to wait for yet another day.

Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and lower court judges hoped that the Supreme Court's ruling in the consolidated cases of Davis v. Washington and Hammon v. Indiana (hereafter simply Davis) would provide a primer on testimonial hearsay. In retrospect, these hopes were somewhat unrealistic.

The Supreme Court's consolidated decision in Davis v. Washington and Hammon v. Indiana offers something for everyone: by "splitting the difference" between the two cases—affirming one and reversing the other—the opinion provides much grist for advocates' mills on both sides of this issue.