context: Nonetheless, under the authority of Chambers v. Mississippi, I conclude that Fornes's statements to Cohen are admissible. As the Supreme Court held in Chambers, even if the evidence would otherwise be inadmissible under the state's rules of evidence, a defendant in a criminal case may nonetheless be entitled to introduce the evidence if its exclusion would render his trial fundamentally unfair.
citation_a.signal: see
citation_a.parenthetical: holding that exclusion of hearsay statements violated due process, even though statements were not admissible under Mississippi law, which did not recognize declarations against penal interest as a exception to the rule against hearsay
citation_a.sentence: See Chambers, 410 U.S. at 302-03, 93 S.Ct. 1038 (holding that exclusion of hearsay statements violated due process, even though statements were not admissible under Mississippi law, which did not recognize declarations against penal interest as a exception to the rule against hearsay); see also Priest v. Hennessy, 51 N.Y.2d 62, 431 N.Y.S.2d 511, 514, 409 N.E.2d 983 (1980) (“even where the technical requirements of the [attorney-client] privilege are satisfied, it may, nonetheless, yield in a proper case, where strong public policy requires disclosure”).
citation_b.signal: see also
citation_b.identifier: 431 N.Y.S.2d 511, 514
citation_b.parenthetical: "even where the technical requirements of the [attorney-client] privilege are satisfied, it may, nonetheless, yield in a proper case, where strong public policy requires disclosure"
citation_b.sentence: See Chambers, 410 U.S. at 302-03, 93 S.Ct. 1038 (holding that exclusion of hearsay statements violated due process, even though statements were not admissible under Mississippi law, which did not recognize declarations against penal interest as a exception to the rule against hearsay); see also Priest v. Hennessy, 51 N.Y.2d 62, 431 N.Y.S.2d 511, 514, 409 N.E.2d 983 (1980) (“even where the technical requirements of the [attorney-client] privilege are satisfied, it may, nonetheless, yield in a proper case, where strong public policy requires disclosure”).