California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Harris, 255 Cal.Rptr. 352, 47 Cal.3d 1047, 767 P.2d 619 (Cal. 1989):
Because the defendants' extrajudicial statements implicated not only the declarant defendant, but also the other, it was anticipated that some would not be admissible against the nondeclarant. (Bruton v. United States (1968) [47 Cal.3d 1066] 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476; People v. Aranda (1965) 63 Cal.2d 518, 47 Cal.Rptr. 353, 407 P.2d 265.) For this reason the trial court, after denying the defendants' motions for separate trials, impanelled two juries. The jury trying the nondeclarant was to be excused when evidence was admitted of an extrajudicial statement by the other defendant implicating him, or when evidence relevant to only one defendant was to be heard. Because appellant challenges this procedure in his appeal, we will identify below the occasions on which one of the juries was excused.
1. Procedure in dual jury trial.
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