People v. Simmons

The principal issues presented for our review are, first, whether the admission into evidence at an identification hearing and at trial of the deceased victim’s preliminary hearing testimony violates defendant’s constitutional right of confrontation; and, second, whether the failure by the District Attorney, through inadvertence or negligence, to disclose exculpatory material in his control, constitutes a denial of due process to the defendant.

The defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of robbery in the first degree. Subsequent to testifying against the defendant at a preliminary…