People v. Jackson

Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.Court conducted an in camera hearing on his pretrial motion to disclose the surveillance location from where a police officer allegedly observed him commit the offense. During hearing, officer revealed his surveillance location generally but court erred in not ascertaining officer's specific surveillance point. Precise surveillance location is necessary for court to properly apply the burden-shifting approach and balance public interest in keeping location secret against Defendant's interest in preparing defense for trial. Court erred in allowing scope of in camera hearing to expand into matters unrelated to officer's surveillance location outside presence of Defendant and his counsel, violating Defendant's right to confrontation. Court erred in allowing State to appear during and participate in the in camera hearing.(McBRIDE and ELLIS, concurring.)