Opinion ID: 2049573
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the balanced presentation

Text: This was a case where the only evidence the prosecutor offered linking defendant with the crime was an eyewitness who could not make a positive identification of the defendant and testimony of an accomplice who was positively identified and who later pled guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. While defendant and his witness testified that they had been watching television at the witness's house all day, the prosecutor's witness, the accomplice, placed him at the crime. It is no exaggeration then to say that the prosecutor's case rested on the uncorroborated testimony of this accomplice and his credibility as a witness. The issue, therefore, came down to whom to believe, the defendant and his witness or the accomplice. The jury was told by the judge that the alibi should be regarded with skepticism; to examine carefully the evidence on that point, scrutinize any evidence in relation to the alibi. An alibi is a defense that is easily proven and hard to disprove. Therefore you will be careful and cautious bearing upon the question of alibi. Testimony of the comparable witness on the prosecution's side was not limited by any such cautionary instructions. While the judge offered instructions advising the jury to weigh the credibility of all witnesses, only the defense witness was singled out by an instruction denigrating his testimony. While a general instruction may, conceivably substitute for a special cautionary instruction, it is error to give only selective cautionary instructions. Defendant has the right to have a balanced presentation made to the jury.