State v. Huser

Defendant appealed his first-degree murder conviction entered after a retrial. The State prosecuted Defendant on the theory that Defendant aided and abetted Louis Woolheater in the murder of Lance Morningstar and was motivated to do so because Morningstar had an affair with Defendant’s wife. During Defendant’s second trial, Defendant was precluded from presenting out-of-court statements that he argued were admissible as statements against interest. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s conviction and remanded the case for a new trial, holding that Defendant should have been allowed to present to the jury the challenged statements because they would have given Defendant a powerful argument that Woolheater acted to “save his own skin” rather than at the direction or encouragement of Defendant. View "State v. Huser" on Justia Law