Opinion ID: 2022106
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Limitation on Cross-Examination Regarding the Agreement

Text: Before trial, Graziano entered into a written agreement to testify against Morrison in exchange for charging him with a lesser crime. The agreement was contingent on Graziano passing a polygraph examination. When Graziano failed the polygraph, the State did not amend the information. At trial, Morrison attempted to cross-examine Graziano about this conditional agreement, but the court limited questioning on this subject to: You cut a beneficial deal with the State, did you not? Morrison argues that the trial court erred by limiting his cross-examination of Graziano regarding this agreement and by excluding the written agreement from evidence because exclusion of this matter misled the jury and violated his right to a fair trial. The trial court did not err. This Court has long held that beneficial agreements between an accomplice and the State must be revealed to the jury. Morgan v. State, 275 Ind. 666, 419 N.E.2d 964 (1981); Newman v. State, 263 Ind. 569, 334 N.E.2d 684 (1975). This rule serves to help the jury better assess the reliability and honesty of the felon-witness. Lewis v. State, 629 N.E.2d 934, 937 (Ind.Ct.App.1994) (The jury should have the evidence related to any consideration a felon-witness receives in exchange for testifying on behalf of the State). Here, the State did not extend any consideration to Graziano, because Graziano did not pass the polygraph examination and thus secured no consideration from the State. As a result, there was no deal to disclose to the jury. The trial court's decision to limit Graziano's testimony was not an abuse of discretion. Likewise, there was no need to submit the written agreement into evidence. Graziano was charged with murder and tried jointly with Morrison. With Graziano facing the possibility of sixty-five years in prison, the jury was well-aware that Graziano had a powerful incentive to lay all the guilt on Morrison. The rule requiring disclosure of beneficial agreements serves to alert the jury to a witness's credibility, or lack thereof. The jury needed little reminder here.