Schneble v. Florida

Petitioner was found guilty of murder following a jury trial in which police officers testified as to the detailed confession that he had given to them and in which one officer related a statement made to him by petitioner's codefendant, who did not testify, which tended to undermine petitioner's initial (but later abandoned) version and to corroborate certain details of petitioner's confession. The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed. Petitioner claims that the admission into evidence of his codefendant's statement deprived him of his right to confrontation in violation of Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123.

Held: Any violation of Bruton that might have occurred was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in view of the overwhelming evidence of petitioner's guilt as manifested by his confession, which completely comported with the objective evidence, and the comparatively insignificant effect of the codefendant's admission. Pp. 429-432.

215 So. 2d 611, affirmed.

REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and STEWART, WHITE, BLACKMUN, and POWELL, JJ., joined. MARSHALL, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which DOUGLAS and BRENNAN, JJ., joined, post, p. 432.

Clyde B. Wells argued the cause and filed a brief for petitioner.

George R. Georgieff, Assistant Attorney General of Florida, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Robert L. Shevin, Attorney General.