Opinion ID: 1997908
Heading Depth: 1
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Heading: Constitutional Requirements of Admissibility.

Text: We first address the constitutional requirements referred to in rule 412(b)(1). The constitutional provisions most often implicated in cases of this type are the sixth amendment right of confrontation and the fourteenth amendment due process right to a fair trial. See Annot., 1 A.L.R.4th 283 (1980). The Constitution, however, ordinarily requires only the introduction of otherwise relevant and admissible evidence. United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 711, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 3109, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039, 1066 (1974); United States v. Kasto, 584 F.2d 268, 272 (8th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 930, 99 S.Ct. 1267, 59 L.Ed.2d 486 (1979); see also Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 315, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 1110, 39 L.Ed.2d 347, 353 (1974). Evidence that is irrelevant is not constitutionally required to be admitted. State v. Folck, 325 N.W.2d 368, 374 (Iowa 1982); State v. Davis, 269 N.W.2d 434, 438 (Iowa 1978). Further, the trial court has a duty to protect a witness from questions which go beyond the bounds of proper cross-examination merely to harass, annoy, or humiliate. State v. Davis, 269 N.W.2d at 438. Even relevant evidence is not constitutionally required to be admitted if the prejudicial effect outweighs the probative value. People v. Blackburn, 56 Cal.App.3d 685, 691, 128 Cal.Rptr. 864, 867 (1976); State v. Gibson, 636 S.W.2d 956, 958 (Mo.1982); State v. Fortney, 301 N.C. 31, 36, 269 S.E.2d 110, 113, (1980); see also Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 295, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 1046, 35 L.Ed.2d 297, 309 (1973) ([T]he right to confront and to cross-examine is not absolute and may, in appropriate cases, bow to accommodate other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process.)