Evans v. Verdini, No. 05-2272 affirms the denial of a habeas petition. The petitioner argues that the prosecutor was able to get admissible evidence admitted via impeachment of his own witness. The state courts had found that admitting the evidence (grand jury minutes) was inadmissible, but was harmless error. The court finds however, that it was defense counsel’s questioning that lead to the admission of the inadmissible evidence.
The petitioner also argued that he should have been able to present testimony regarding a witness’s prior statements to the police. The state courts held that the question was really one of relevancy and not really constitutional law. Moreover, because the evidence (which was recanted, in part) was of questionable value, the court notes that its exclusion probably didn’t create a constitutional error.
... and so another person stays in jail for life.
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