Opinion ID: 1948017
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses for the Defense

Text: Appellant argues that the sentencing court erred in refusing to declare a mistrial because of the prosecutor's alleged improper questioning of Dr. Gerald Cooke and Dr. Robert Sadoff during cross-examination. This claim has no merit. When viewed in context, none of the prosecutor's questions or comments so inflamed the jury that it could not objectively decide the case. During direct examination, Dr. Cooke stated that he had testified at many trials, sometimes for the defense and sometimes for the prosecution. The prosecution then brought out on cross that Dr. Cooke frequently testified for the defense in capital cases and only rarely testified for the prosecution. Such testimony was relevant and admissible on the issue of whether Dr. Cooke held any bias against the prosecution. At no time did the prosecutor ask about the actual penalty imposed in the other death penalty cases in which Dr. Cooke testified; nor did the witness offer such information. The prosecutor did mention the name of one of the prior cases in which the death penalty was imposed. Appellant now claims that this mere mention was prejudicial enough to warrant a mistrial because some juror might have been aware that the death penalty was imposed in that case and might have found Dr. Cooke's testimony less persuasive on that basis. Such speculation does not provide the basis for a mistrial and the sentencing court correctly denied the request. At one point during the questioning of Dr. Sadoff, the prosecutor suggested that appellant tried to kill Dr. Faruqi's daughter because she was a witness. Defense counsel objected and the court sustained the objection and issued a cautionary instruction to disregard the prosecution's speculation. Despite appellant's contention to the contrary, the comment did not create such prejudice as to warrant a mistrial. Appellant's second complaint in regard to the questioning of Dr. Sadoff involved the prosecutor's attempt to elicit testimony to counter specific statements made by the witness on direct examination. Dr. Sadoff had testified on direct that it was his opinion that appellant committed the murders while acting under extreme emotional or mental disturbance and did not fully appreciate the criminality of his actions. He stated that the fact that the appellant had carelessly discarded evidence near the crime scene did not change this opinion. On cross-examination, the prosecutor attempted to show that a criminal might leave evidence where it could be readily discovered without necessarily suffering from diminished capacity. He offered as an example the contract killer, who sometimes deliberately leaves such evidence while fully understanding the criminality of his action. When viewed in context, the prosecutor's example simply does not create the prejudice claimed by the defense and certainly does not warrant a mistrial.