May 20, 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968). Bruton is a Warren Court landmark and an example of its activism in the cause of defendants’ rights.

Background

On Good Friday, April 16, 1965, at about 2:00 p.m., two men entered the Robinson Jewelry Store in St. Louis, Mo., where they were waited on by Shirley Miller. Within minutes, one of the men pulled a gun and announced a hold-up. Miller and Paul Robinson, the store’s owner, were tied up in the rear of the store, and the robbers made off with jewelry and $30 in cash. The jewelry store also functioned as a Post Office branch, and the money was taken from a Post Office safe; the robbery was both a state and federal crime.