People v. Johnson

Fourth Division

April 9, 1998

No. 1-97-0950

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) APPEAL FROM THE) CIRCUIT COURT OF

Plaintiff-Appellee, ) COOK COUNTY.)

v. ))

BILLY L. JOHNSON, ) HONORABLE) MARY MAXWELL THOMAS,

Defendant-Appellant. ) JUDGE PRESIDING.)

The rule against hearsay evidence has been a fixed principle of Anglo-American jurisprudence since the late 1600's, when Lord Coke, in his Third Institute, denounced "the strange conceit that one may be an accuser by hearsay." See J. Strong, McCormick On Evidence, §244 at 425 (4th ed. 1992).

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, various…