Opinion ID: 2624500
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Restriction of Cross-examination of Robert Borg

Text: James Park, a retired associate warden with California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, testified for defendant. He reviewed defendant's prison records and gave his opinion that nothing in the records suggested defendant was an escape risk or prone to violence towards guards or other inmates. In his opinion, if defendant were given a sentence of life without the possibility of parole he could be reclassified and placed in a facility where he would have the opportunity to continue producing works of art and could lead a useful, productive life. To rebut Park's testimony, the prosecution presented the testimony of Robert Borg, warden of Folsom State Prison from 1985 to 1992. He refuted some of Park's testimony regarding inmate classification. Borg disclaimed any ability to foretell whether defendant would engage in violence in prison, but testified to his opinion, based on his review of defendant's prison records, that defendant remained a threat to other inmates and guards. Borg acknowledged that he relied in great part on reports of defendant's violent encounters with other inmates during his early years in prison starting at age 16, on the violence involved in the capital offense, on the fact that many of defendant's assaults involved vulnerable victims, and on the fact that defendant committed crimes in which he snuck up on his victims. Borg stated he did not take into consideration the years defendant had spent on death row during which there were no recorded incidents of violence; he explained that in his opinion, the paucity of violence was because on death row defendant had limited opportunities to interact with other prisoners or guards while not in shackles or under the gun. On cross-examination, Borg acknowledged he had not reviewed defendant's entire record, and stated it might have made a difference in his assessment if he were to learn that defendant had gone into the yard with other death row inmates every day for a year with no incidents of violence. Defendant then sought to ask if Borg had reviewed the record of defendant's federal habeas corpus petition and hearing transcript which, he argued, indicated that for a year while on death row, defendant did have opportunities daily to engage in recreation with other inmates with no reported incidents of violence. Borg indicated he had not reviewed the habeas corpus records, and the court would not allow defense counsel to ask any other questions regarding the habeas corpus record. Defendant now argues the restriction on his cross-examination of Borg violated his right under the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment. The contention lacks merit. (31) `[A] criminal defendant states a violation of the Confrontation Clause by showing that he was prohibited from engaging in otherwise appropriate cross-examination designed to show a prototypical form of bias on the part of the witness, and thereby, `to expose to the jury the facts from which jurors ... could appropriately draw inferences relating to the reliability of the witness.' ( Delaware v. Van Arsdall (1986) 475 U.S. 673, 680 [89 L.Ed.2d 674, 106 S.Ct. 1431] ..., quoting Davis v. Alaska (1974) 415 U.S. 308, 318 [39 L.Ed.2d 347, 94 S.Ct. 1105].) However, not every restriction on a defendant's desired method of cross-examination is a constitutional violation. Within the confines of the confrontation clause, the trial court retains wide latitude in restricting cross-examination that is repetitive, prejudicial, confusing of the issues, or of marginal relevance. [Citation.] California law is in accord. (See People v. Belmontes (1988) 45 Cal.3d 744, 780 [248 Cal.Rptr. 126, 755 P.2d 310].) Thus, unless the defendant can show that the prohibited cross-examination would have produced a significantly different impression of [the witnesses'] credibility ( Van Arsdall, supra, 475 U.S. at p. 680), the trial court's exercise of its discretion in this regard does not violate the Sixth Amendment.' ( People v. Chatman (2006) 38 Cal.4th 344, 372 [42 Cal.Rptr.3d 621, 133 P.3d 534].) The court appropriately restricted defendant from asking Borg to form an opinion about information contained in records he did not review and about which he had no knowledge. (Evid. Code, § 803.) In doing so, the court did not preclude the jury from accurately assessing Borg's credibility; defense counsel established that Borg based his opinion on a less than complete review of defendant's records, and Borg acknowledged that if he had had more information about defendant's opportunity to interact with other inmates, he might have formed a different opinion about defendant's propensity for violence. Defendant fails to show that the prohibited cross-examination, which sought only to ask specific questions about the habeas corpus record, would have significantly altered the jurors' impression of Borg's credibility.