James Raymond Neal v. United States

James Raymond Neal was convicted of bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 , and the judgment was affirmed by this court. Neal v. United States, 9 Cir., 342 F.2d 730 . In this proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 , Neal seeks to set aside the conviction on the ground that during his joint trial with codefendant James Harvey Thompson, a Government witness was permitted to testify at length concerning a confession given by the co-defendant implicating Neal in the robbery. Thompson did not take the witness stand and Neal therefore had no opportunity to cross-examine him.

The district court denied the section 2255 motion, holding that while reception of this evidence involved constitutional error under Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 , 88 S.Ct. 1620 , 20 L.Ed.2d 476 , a ruling made retroactive in Roberts v. Russell, 392 U.S. 293 , 88 S.Ct. 1921 , 20 L.Ed.2d 1100 , the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt within the principles announced in Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 , 87 S.Ct. 824 , 17 L.Ed.2d 705 .

In his brief on this appeal Neal argued that where there is a Bruton error, the harmless error rule of Chapman does not apply and reversal is invariably…