Supreme Court overturns conviction in 2-year-old’s Easter Sunday killingBy Tamar Lapin and Bruce Golding
January 20, 2022
The Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the murder conviction of a Bronx man in the stray-bullet shooting of a 2-year-old boy on his way to church and a family dinner on Easter Sunday in 2006.
In an 8-1 decision, the high court ruled that Darrell Hemphill’s Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser was violated when prosecutors were allowed to introduce a statement from a witness without calling him to the stand at trial.
“The trial court’s admission of unconfronted testimonial hearsay over Hemphill’s objection, on the view that it was reasonably necessary to correct Hemphill’s misleading argument, violated that fundamental guarantee,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority.
The reversal also came after Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark “withheld consent” for former Assistant District Attorney Adam Oustatcher to submit a 33-page brief to the justices, even though tragic tot David Pacheco Jr.’s mom wanted the paperwork filed.
“There’s an old saying that bad facts make bad law and that’s what happened here,” Oustatcher told The Post.
“By failing to bring to the Court’s attention the evidence adduced and facts established at trial, the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office essentially sealed the case’s fate…and lost an appeal that should have been won.”
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/01/20/supreme-court-overturns-conviction-in-tots-easter-killing/
