Henderson v. Detella

97 F.3d 942 (7th Cir. 1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Chavez was awakened by a pounding on the front door. Leonard answered and was confronted by P and two other men. Leonard was thrown to the floor. Henderson told both Chavez and Leonard that they were going to die. He pulled out a gun and fired two shots into the back of Leonard's head, killing him. Chavez, who was sixteen years old, knew Henderson (age eighteen), from the neighborhood. Chavez knew P from the neighborhood. He had asked her on several occasions to be 'his lady.' As Chavez pleaded with Henderson to spare her life, he told her that if he could not have her, no one would. He grabbed her hair, put a gun to her ear, and shot her three times. She survived! She regained consciousness and told the police who arrived on the scene that P had shot her. P was taken into custody. The state subsequently charged P with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and home invasion. Chavez testified and on cross-examination, the defense inquired into her relationship with one Quintin Jones and asked Chavez whether she had used 'speed' in the presence of P and Jones. Chavez acknowledged knowing Jones but denied that she had been involved with him romantically and denied having ever used speed. When the defense later attempted to have Jones testify that he had seen Chavez use drugs on numerous occasions, the trial court sustained the state's objection, noting that 'the only reason [you're] doing it is to dirty up the witness.' P was convicted. P renews his argument that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to confront Chavez when the court precluded extrinsic testimony concerning her purported drug use.