People v. Waller

After a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, the defendant, Bernice Waller, was convicted of one count of voluntary manslaughter. The appellate court reversed, one judge dissenting (36 Ill. App. 3d 888), and we granted the State’s petition for leave to appeal.

The appellate court held that the trial court had erred in admitting the rebuttal testimony of a witness who (1) had remained in the courtroom in violation of an order excluding witnesses, and (2) whose testimony was not confined to rebuttal of Mrs. Waller’s testimony. We reverse, because we find that the defense failed to…