State v. Leopardi

The opinion of the court was delivered by

BAIME, J.A.D.

The principal question presented in this case is whether defendant’s right to counsel was violated by the admission at trial of an incriminating note given by him to an inmate law librarian. Although the inmate agreed to deliver the note to defendant’s codefendant who was housed in a different section of the jail, he instead surrendered it to the county prosecutor. We hold that the State did not deliberately extract the incriminating information in the absence of counsel, and the statement was thus properly admitted.

*74I.

A jury found…