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The Constitutional Multiverse: A Retroactive Analysis Of Hemphill V. New York, Michael C. Wetmore

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

In 2022, the Supreme Court was asked the question: May a criminal defendant “open the door” to evidence that it is otherwise inadmissible because of their Sixth Amendment right to confront adversarial witnesses? It is not unheard of that, at trial, a defendant’s attorney makes arguments that prosecutors and judges think will mislead the jury. Many times, these arguments reference evidence that—by evidentiary rule, pretrial ruling, or otherwise—is inadmissible. Trial courts have long been afforded the discretion to measure how much evidence can come through the door a defendant opens by raising these arguments to cure any false impression that …