Opinion ID: 1607200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Anthony Fail

Text: Anthony Fail was a member of the John Doe organization. On direct examination, he testified that he was currently incarcerated on two life sentences, plus a thirty-year sentence with a fifteen-year mandatory minimum; had eight prior felony convictions; had no plea agreements with either the state or federal prosecutors; had agreed to testify because the victim Wilson had been his girlfriend; and had been involved in the drug business for a number of years and had engaged in various acts of violence. On cross-examination, defense counsel was able to elicit that Fail had hurt, shot, and beat up people for the defendant. The State objected when defense counsel started to question Fail about his involvement in specific violent acts unrelated to those that were the subject of Smith's trial. The court held that defense counsel was not permitted to inquire about these unrelated uncharged crimes because they were not relevant to this proceeding or the witness's testimony. However, defense counsel was able to elicit that Fail sold drugs and that he was a murderer for hire for the defendant. Moreover, defense counsel was able to question Fail at length about another incident in which he shot a companion in the back of the head and how the fees for a murder for hire are negotiated. Through questioning, defense counsel repeatedly made the point that Fail was a murderer for hire and got paid to kill. Only when defense counsel persisted in asking how many people had Fail killed, even after he responded not many, did the court sustain the State's objection and restrict the questioning.