Opinion ID: 1898260
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: did the trial court err in limiting the cross-examination of the state's witness, susan self?

Text: Pulliam alleges that Susan Self had borne a child by McKenzie, one of Pulliam's friends and this was one of the reasons that she sought to get even with him. To bolster his defense of entrapment, Pulliam sought to establish that Self was trying to get him because he was a friend of McKenzie's. Self admitted that she was very angry with McKenzie's friends, and that she had been a very close friend of McKenzie. When Pulliam attempted to establish that Self had borne a child by McKenzie the trial judge sustained the objection of the State and held that the question and the answer would be irrelevant. This Court in Black v. State, 506 So.2d 264 (Miss. 1987), has held that, Whether the trial judge abused his discretion in limiting cross-examination is necessarily a matter of careful reflection upon the nature and the purpose of the questions propounded. Black, at 267. Pulliam argues that these limitations on his cross-examination denied him the opportunity to fully develop his entrapment defense. The jury obviously did not accept Pulliam's story that the marijuana belonged to Self and he was only holding it for her so that Self could sell the drugs to her cousin without the cousin knowing that Self was the drug dealer. However, we may only speculate as to what the jury's reaction would have been if the entire story of Susan Self had been developed on cross-examination. Relevance is the key issue when a witness has been cross-examined as to interest, bias, or prejudice, and wide latitude should be allowed. Sanders v. State, 352 So.2d 822 (Miss. 1977). It is beyond question that if there are doubts as to the relevancy of an inquiry into credibility, interest, bias, or motive, those doubts should be resolved in favor of admissibility. Miskelley v. State, 480 So.2d 1104 (Miss. 1985). Addressing the scope of the inquiry which should be permitted on cross-examination, we in Miskelley stated: In addressing this question, we are mindful of the principle and rule that a witness may not be impeached upon a collateral matter. Likewise, any evidence that is material and relevant, which has a bearing on the motives, bias, and interests of a witness and affects the credibility of that witness is admissible. In our jurisprudence, cross-examination of a witness is a valuable right which may not be infringed upon or bridled. Cross-examination is one of the most potent tools in the trial of lawsuits to ascertain the truth of a matter. Where there is doubt as to the relevancy of the examination, the scales should weigh in favor of admitting the examination. Miskelley, at 1108. While the evidence which the defense sought to obtain from Self might well be far removed from the crime with which Pulliam was charged, it is not so far removed from the defense that he raised that it was not material or relevant. We therefore are of the opinion that the trial judge abused his discretion in excluding this evidence and limiting the cross-examination of the informant Self.