Posted On: October 9, 2009
CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL EVIDENCE: ARANDA, BRUTON, AND REDACTION
When the DA offers into evidence a nontestifying co-defendant's statement implicating your client, Aranda (63 Cal.2d 518) and Bruton (391 U.S. 123) bar
admission of that statement. The solution is often to redact the statement to delete your client's name and insert a pronoun. Often, this isn't enough. The California Supreme Court restate all this, noting that where, as here, the reference to "the other" led to the obvious
inference that it was the def, the redaction doesn't cure the Aranda/Bruton error.
Harmless error here.
People v. Burney; 2009 DJ DAR 12090; DJ, 8/17/09; Cal. Supremes
