Opinion ID: 589639
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Limiting Cross-Examination of Government Witness

Text: 70 Myers contends that the court erred in not allowing him to cross-examine Officer Jett, a government witness, about certain incidents of misconduct in order to show bias. Myers proffers that had the court permitted it, he would have cross-examined Jett regarding the following events that occurred in 1986 when Myers served as watch commander: 1) a complaint filed with the Doraville Police Department against Jett for furnishing alcoholic beverages to two minors; 2) Jett's forced resignation from the Department for leaving work on false pretenses; and 3) after reinstatement to the Department, shooting out a television monitor after mistakenly believing that he had removed all the bullets from his gun. 10 The court ruled that Myers could cross-examine Jett on incidents that showed some connection to Myers that would indicate bias by Jett. The court determined that the mere fact that Jett was disciplined on other occasions was irrelevant. 11 The court did allow the defense during direct examination of Myers to ask questions regarding the incidents to reflect possible bias on the part of Jett. 12 71 Delineating the scope of cross-examination is within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Casamayor, 837 F.2d 1509, 1514 (11th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1017, 109 S.Ct. 813, 102 L.Ed.2d 803 (1989); United States v. Orr, 825 F.2d 1537, 1540 (11th Cir.1987); United States v. Darwin, 757 F.2d 1193, 1202 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1110, 106 S.Ct. 896, 88 L.Ed.2d 930 (1986). While the Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to cross-examine witnesses, that right is not unlimited. United States v. Alonso, 740 F.2d 862, 875 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1166, 105 S.Ct. 928, 83 L.Ed.2d 939 (1985); see also United States v. Calle, 822 F.2d 1016, 1020 (11th Cir.1987). There was no abuse of discretion here. 72