CRIMINAL LAW IN BERGEN AND PASSAIC COUNTIES: EVIDENCE TAKEN IN VIOLATION OF DEFENDANTS' RIGHTS CAN BE USED FOR IMPEACHMENT PURPOSES

Prior to the trial in that case, the government planted an informant in the defendant's cell and elicited harmful admissions relating to the murder and robbery of the victim. The defendant ultimately testified at trial and denied complicity in the crime. When the government sought to use the informant as a witness to contradict the defendant's testimony, the defendant objected on the basis of his Sixth Amendment Right to counsel. The trial court allowed the informant's testimony to impeach the defendant's testimony. The Kansas Supreme Court determined that the trial court's ruling was in error. The United States Supreme Court reversed that decision and endorsing the trial court's original ruling. The Court concluded that the exclusion of impeachment evidence under the circumstances of the case was outweighed by the need to prevent perjury and to insure that integrity of the trial process. In short, the court found that the philosophical underpinnings of the exclusionary rule was overwhelmed by the need to ensure truth in the criminal trial process.