Opinion ID: 2049757
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Exclusion of certain testimony of Doris Leonard

Text: The defendant assigns as error the Superior Court's refusal to allow defense witness Doris Leonard to testify that Sharon Hebert was the aggressor in physical confrontations with the defendant during the marriage. The presiding justice excluded this testimony as cumulative, remote, and beyond the bounds of relevance. In order to prevail on this matter, the defendant must establish that the presiding justice abused his discretion. See State v. Spearin, 463 A.2d at 730-31 (determinations of relevance are within discretion of presiding justice and will not be overturned absent abuse of such discretion); State v. Cedre, 314 A.2d 790, 799 (Me.1974) (extent and scope of impeachment testimony are matters within limits of judicial discretion). Although it would not have been error to allow the testimony, to exclude it was not an abuse of discretion. Maine Rule of Evidence 403 (1984) provides that relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is outweighed by any one of a number of factors, including confusion to the jury and needless presentation of cumulative evidence. According the presiding justice great latitude to determine whether the probative value of the evidence offered was of sufficient weight to justify its admission, we find no error was committed. Another defense witness had previously testified Sharon Hebert was the aggressor in physical confrontations with her former husband. Therefore, the evidence was cumulative. Moreover, the testimony the defendant sought to produce related to a collateral issue of credibility, one which might have confused the jury as to the true issue in the casewhether Edmond Hebert sexually molested his daughter.