Opinion ID: 2520297
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: does the cumulative error doctrine apply to this case?

Text: Durkin argues there were numerous errors committed in this case. Thus even if this Court finds that the errors thus far are harmless, the accumulation of errors denied him a fair trial. In order to find cumulative error, this Court must first conclude that there is merit to more than one of the alleged errors and then conclude that these errors, when aggregated, denied the defendant a fair trial. State v. Sheahan, 139 Idaho 267, 287, 77 P.3d 956, 976 (2003). Although cumulative error has never been formally adopted in civil litigation in Idaho, the errors in this case do not arise to that level. Therefore, we need not examine if that legal theory applies to civil cases in general.