Opinion ID: 1184098
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether the Erroneous Admission of Haydel's Second, Third, and Fourth Written Statements and the Evidence Obtained at the Haydel Home Requires Reversal.

Text: (12) Even if Haydel's second, third, and fourth written statements constitute admissions rather than confessions and the prejudicial per se rule does not apply (see Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 23 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 710, 87 S.Ct. 824, 24 A.L.R.3d 1065]; People v. Powell, 67 Cal.2d 32, 51-52 [59 Cal. Rptr. 817, 429 P.2d 137]), it is clear that the error in admitting those statements and the evidence obtained at the Haydel home contributed to the convictions and requires reversal of the orders granting probation. ( Chapman v. California, supra, pp. 21-24 [17 L.Ed.2d pp. 708-711]; People v. Watson, 46 Cal.2d 818, 835-837 [299 P.2d 243]; People v. Bradley, 1 Cal.3d 80, 89 [81 Cal. Rptr. 457, 460 P.2d 129].) To begin with that evidence was a prominent part of the prosecution's case, and the introduction of that evidence occupied a substantial portion of the trial. In addition the inadmissible statements contain admissions regarding thefts not mentioned in the properly admitted confession, and the large amount of merchandise retrieved from the Haydel home was not only incriminating to Haydel but also could have been viewed by the jury as giving rise to an inference that Mrs. Haydel must have been aware her husband was stealing merchandise from the store, a matter relevant to her intent. Furthermore the properly admitted evidence of the Haydels' guilt is not so overwhelming that we can say the error in admitting the evidence in question was harmless. Although the properly admitted evidence against Haydel included, among other things, his first written statement, which was a confession, his version of the circumstances surrounding that statement could have been viewed by the jury as affecting the weight of that evidence.