State v. Hutchinson

We granted certiorari in this case to review the question of whether or not the trial judge, sitting as a jury, erred in preliminarily admitting into evidence, over objections, the inculpatory statement of the accused ob tained during a custodial interrogation and taken in violation of Miranda guidelines. The trial judge subsequently rejected the statement at the close of trial and declared that he would completely disregard it in reaching a verdict. The accused was found guilty of first degree murder and rape, and sentenced to life imprisonment on both charges, the sentences to run…