| Court: | US Supreme Court |
| Facts: | A cop got shot while serving someone. He fired into the crowd, and hit Chambers. It was alleged that Chambers shot him, and Chambers was prohibited from introducing a confession and other testimony to the contrary. |
| Posture: | Convicted, then affirmed by MI supremes. |
| Issue: | Was excluding the evidence about the other possible killer a violation of due process, under the 14th amendment? |
| Holding: | Yes, for all love. Reversed and remanded for a new trial. |
| Rule: | You can't have a fair trial if you're not allowed to call and cross-examine witnesses. |
| Reasoning: | The "voucher" rule, combined with the "hearsay" rule amounted to an unfair combination. The "voucher" rule says if you call a witness, you are vouching for his credibility, so he couldn't call the alternate killer. The people who could testify about the alternate killer were excluded as hearsay. |
| Dicta: | This isn't a new consitutional principle. |