People v. Washington

I disagree that the indicia of reliability surrounding codefendant’s statement were sufficient to support admission of the statement into evidence in defiance of the confrontation clauses of the state and federal constitutions. Rather, I agree with the Court of Appeals majority that the circuit court should not have admitted the statement. The majority, Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly and Judge Harold Hood, aptly stated:

*676A review of the record reveals an assertion by defense counsel that codefendant Mathis suffered from mental illness and that he had a history of psychiatric and psychological…