Tuesday, June 2, 2009

SCOID to Review Cross-X Case

Friend of the Blog E.L. reports that the Supreme Court has granted review in State v. Ruiz, where the COA affirmed even though the district court prohibited the defendant from cross-examining a state witness about the mandatory minimum sentence he avoided by testifying against the defendant.

That's good news. There's no doubt that a full and fair cross-examination of the cooperating co-defendant includes bringing out all the benefits he will receive from the state. Plus, as Klaus Wiebe (pictured above -- wearing the suit!) points out, if we can't cross-x the snitch about his deal it'll take half the fun out of being a defense lawyer.


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