Cruz v. New York
United States Supreme Court
481 U.S. 186 (1987)
Facts
Eulogio Cruz (defendant) was indicted along with his brother Benjamin for felony murder of a gas station attendant. Benjamin confessed to the murder while he was being questioned in connection to another murder. He made a videotaped statement implicating Eulogio in the gas station attendant’s murder. Eulogio and Benjamin were tried jointly. Over Eulogio’s objections, the court allowed the prosecution to introduce the videotape into evidence. The jury was instructed that Benjamin’s confession was not to be used against Eulogio. At the end of trial, the only evidence admissible against Eulogio was the testimony of a friend of his, Norberto. Norberto testified that the day after the gas station incident, Eulogio appeared nervous and he had a bloody bandage around his arm. Norberto told the court that Eulogio confided in him and had told Norberto that he and Benjamin had gone to the gas station to rob it, that the attendant shot him, and that Benjamin then shot and killed the attendant. The jury convicted Eulogio and the court of appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Scalia, J.)
Dissent (White, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 707,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 44,500 briefs, keyed to 983 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
