Opinion ID: 1943879
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Simpson's Prior Dealings with Police

Text: Appellant also sought to cross-examine Simpson for bias stemming from her arrest earlier in 1996 on charges related to gun possession. Those charges were eventually dropped after a police officer amended the charges on a police report, thus creating confusion as to the proper charges. Appellant alleges that, because the same officer was on the scene of the triple murder when Edwin Knight gave the police Simpson's name, Simpson may have falsified testimony in return for continued favorable treatment in the triple murder investigation. The trial court ruled that, because appellant had failed to proffer any evidence of any ongoing relationship between Simpson and the officer or of how she might have benefitted from her earlier contact with him, no bias had been shown and the proposed cross-examination should not be permitted. [A] trial court does not abuse its discretion by precluding cross-examination where the connection between the facts cited by defense counsel and the proposed line of questioning [is] too speculative to support the questions. McGriff v. United States, 705 A.2d 282, 285 (D.C.1997) (internal quotations omitted). Our review of defense counsel's proffer confirms that any suggestion of Simpson's bias on this point was unsupported speculation. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court acted without error in preventing this line of questioning.