James v. Illinois (1989)
- Docket
- 88-6075
- Decided
- 1989-01-01
Summary
Question: Could James's statements be used against him even though they were obtained illegally? Conclusion: The Court held that the statements could not be used. Justice Brennan argued that prosecutors are allowed to introduce illegally obtained evidence when using it to impeach a defendant's own testimony. However, in this case, the Illinois Supreme Court wrongly expanded that practice making it applicable to all defense witnesses. Brennan concluded that this expansion "would frustrate rather than further the purposes underlying the exclusionary rule."