Cite as: 527 U. S. 116 (1999)
Rehnquist, C. J., concurring in judgment
exculpating Mark and incriminating his brother, petitioner Benjamin Lilly, in the murder of Alexander DeFilippis.1
Thus one is at a loss to know why so much of the plurality's opinion is devoted to whether a declaration against penal interest is a "firmly rooted exception" to the hearsay rule under Ohio v. Roberts, supra. Certainly, we must accept the Virginia court's determination that Mark's statements as a whole were declarations against penal interest for purposes of the Commonwealth's hearsay rule. See ante, at 125. Simply labeling a confession a "declaration against penal interest," however, is insufficient for purposes of Roberts, as this exception "defines too large a class for meaningful Confrontation Clause analysis." Lee v. Illinois, 476 U. S. 530, 544, n. 5 (1986). The plurality tries its hand at systematizing this class, see ante, at 127, but most of its housecleaning is unwarranted and results in a complete ban on the govern-ment's use of accomplice confessions that inculpate a co-defendant. Such a categorical holding has no place in this case because the relevant portions of Mark Lilly's confession were simply not "declarations against penal interest" as that term is understood in the law of evidence. There may be close cases where the declaration against penal interest portion is closely tied in with the portion incriminating the de-1 Mark identifies Ben as the one who murdered Alexander DeFilippis in the following colloquy: ìM. L. I don't know, you know, dude shoots him.
ìG. P. When you say 'dude shoots him' which one are you calling a dude here?
ìM. L. Well, Ben shoots him.
ìG. P. Talking about your brother, what did he shoot him with?
ìM. L. Pistol.
ìG. P. How many times did he shoot him?
ìM. L. I heard a couple of shots go off, I don't know how many times he hit him." App. 258. A similar colloquy occurred in the second interview. See id., at 312-313.
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