Opinion ID: 1412808
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Introduction of Suppressed Evidence.

Text: The petitioner next argues that the trial court erred when it admitted into evidence a key case which the court had suppressed prior to dismissing the original grand jury indictment. The prosecutor at trial had not been involved in the case at the time of the suppression hearing, and tendered the item inadvertently. Moreover, the keys were withdrawn from evidence as soon as the court pointed out the prosecutor's oversight. Technically, even temporary admission of the key case was error, since by definition suppressed items cannot be admitted into evidence at trial. In this case, however, there is no indication of any prejudice resulting from the error. From the time the keys were initially admitted to the time the court discovered and corrected the error, no mention was made of their evidentiary significance. Although they were technically in evidence for some time, they were not given to the jury nor linked in any way to the petitioner. The trial court acted promptly when the district attorney first sought to elicit testimony regarding the keys, and prohibited their further use. Of course the purpose of the prophylactic rules requiring careful screening of evidence to be placed before the jury, is to prevent infecting the jurors' attitudes with non-admissible evidence. Nevertheless our adversary jury trial system can be no more perfect than the human beings who give it life and action. To err is human and therefore not every good faith error so taints a trial as to require reversal. While our constant ideal is perfect justice, our legal standard is whether a defendant has received a fair trial, for seldom, if ever, is it possible to achieve perfection in any human institution. Therefore no defendant has a right to a perfect trial; all have a right to a fair trial. In our view the human error in temporarily admitting the keys into evidence did not deny a fair trial.