When one of several codefendants has confessed to a crime and implicates another codefendant in that crime, can that confession be used to cross-examine the silent defendant?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Duarte, 60 Cal.App.4th 1027, 70 Cal.Rptr.2d 733 (Cal. App. 1998):
When one of several codefendants has confessed to a crime and implicates another defendant, admission of that confession against the silent defendant implicates that defendant's constitutional right to be confronted with and cross-examine the witnesses against him. (People v. Fletcher (1996) 13 Cal.4th 451, 455, 53 Cal.Rptr.2d 572, 917 P.2d 187.)
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