Tony Hanif Lee v. Gary R. McCaughtry Warden, Waupun Correctional Institution

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 298-303, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 1047-50, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973), holds that states may not use the hearsay rule to deprive defendants in criminal cases of reliable and important evidence — in Chambers, multiple confessions of another person to the murder for which Chambers was on trial. McDonald told three associates shortly after the shooting that he fired the gun, and he gave a sworn confession to attorneys representing Chambers. The trial court excluded the statements to the three associates and, by invoking a “voucher” rule, made it…