J Harmless Error

• Library: Illinois Decisions on Search and Seizure (2017 Ed.)

J. Harmless Error

Milton v. Wainwright, 407 U.S. 371 (1972) (finding use of defendant's post-indictment statement to police posing as jail inmate was harmless error because of three other unchallenged confessions by defendant and strong corroborative evidence that supported his guilt).

People v. Black, 52 Ill. 2d 544, 288 N.E.2d 376 (1972) (Although no evidence was obtained from defendant's house during an illegal search, defendant claimed that the illegally seized items could have led to the evidence that was used. HELD: In deciding whether the use of tainted evidence constitutes harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt, the focus should be on the character of the illegally obtained evidence as it relates to other evidence at trial and on any possible prejudicial impact the evidence may have had on the jury. Here, the impact of the illegally obtained evidence on the jury was insignificant in light of other evidence on the record, so the admission of the fruit of the poisonous tree evidence constituted harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt).

People v. Ealy, 2015 IL App (2d) 131106, 53 N.E.3d 109 (The victim, a Burger King manager, was found dead at 5:10 a.m. in her office at Burger King. She had been strangled and had had stab wounds inflicted upon her by a flat-head screw driver. An audit of the Burger King safe revealed that "the safe was missing $236 in 1-dollar bills, $645 in 5-dollar bills, $410 in 10-dollar bills, $300 in 20-dollar bills, $40 in dimes and $70 in quarters. Police began interviewing past and current Burger King employees, including defendant, who had recently quit his second job at Burger King to work at Value City where he would receive higher pay. Defendant was first...