The People v. Assad Cedeno

The primary issue in this case boils down to whether codefendant Villanueva’s redacted statement “obviously refers to the defendant” (Gray v Maryland, 523 US 185, 194 [1998]). The majority holds that it does. I disagree.

A redacted statement of a non-testifying codefendant cannot be admitted at a defendant’s joint trial if the redaction “so closely resemble [s] ” the facially incriminating statements prohibited by Bruton v United States (391 US 123 [1968]) that the jury cannot refrain from attributing it to the defendant (Gray, 523 US at 192). Redactions that simply “replace[ ] a defendant’s…