Opinion ID: 2378414
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Testimony of codefendant Turner

Text: Turner elected to become a witness and testify in his own behalf. It is apparent that the appellant did not anticipate that this would be his codefendant's strategy. Although no objection was offered and no motion for mistrial was made, [2] the appellant now contends that the Court should, upon its own motion, have ordered a mistrial. Appellant seems to place reliance on Bruton v. United States (1968) 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476, in support of his position. The Bruton problem, however, was not presented in the instant case. In Bruton a witness was permitted to relate the contents of an oral confession of one codefendant in a joint trial. This confession expressly implicated the other codefendant. The mischief in Bruton was that the confessing codefendant, not himself a witness, was not subject to cross-examination. We had occasion to examine Bruton carefully in State v. Wing (1972-Me.) 294 A.2d 418, 423. Therein we said, It has been universally held that the right to confrontation is fully satisfied when the confessing co-defendant becomes a witness. So here, no rights of appellant were infringed when Turner unexpectedly decided to become a witness and give testimony which was unquestionably very damaging to appellant. Appellant had full right of cross-examination and could ask no more.