Archer

John Peter Archer appeals his conviction of first degree murder, with a true finding that he personally used a knife in the commission of the crime. He claims several instances of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel, cumulatively resulting in prejudice to him. He makes numerous other claims of error, but we reach only three. First, we conclude that the trial court erred in admitting the extrajudicial statement of his codefendant, and that admission of that statement violated appellant’s constitutional right to confront witnesses. We also conclude that it was error to exclude as hearsay the testimony of a witness who heard appellant’s end of a telephone conversation, as that evidence was offered for a nonhearsay purpose. Finally, we conclude that the court erred in admitting several knives, books and videotapes which had only marginal relevance and great potential for prejudice. The first of these errors, when considered in light of the others, cannot be deemed harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. For this reason, we reverse the judgment of conviction.

Factual and Procedural Summary

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on November 16, 1992,…