Oregon Supreme Ct - Dec. 3, 2015

by: Abassos • December 3, 2015 • no comments

The Trial Court May Not Permit Detailed Cross-Examination of a Defense Witness By the Prosecutor Merely to Find Out Whether the Witness Will Assert a Right to Remain Silent

While a trial court has broad authority to determine whether a witness is really going to testify (or instead, assert the right to remain silent), there is a limit to that authority. That limit is crossed when the judge allows a detailed pretrial examination of a witness by one of the parties. Here, the defense planned to call a co-defendant (who had already pled guilty) and allowed the