Bruton Issue
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Bruton Issue
What is this issue all about
Asked on June 9, 2009 under Criminal Law, Arizona
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
In Bruton, the Supreme Court held that a nontestifying codefendant's confession that directly inculpated another defendant by name could not be admitted at trial, and the Confrontation Clause (which gives the right of an accused in a criminal trial to confront witnesses) problem was not cured by a clear instruction to the jury to consider the statement only as evidence against the codefendant. In Bruton granted a new trial, finding error in the admission in a joint trial of a nontestifying codefendant's confession which directly implicated the defendant. The Court held this violated the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, even though the jury had been instructed not to consider the codefendant's statement on the issue of the defendant's own guilt. You need to see a lawyer as to how this applies in your case.
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