Opinion ID: 1269334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Defendant Lowery's right to preserve testimony

Text: Defendant Lowery contends that his rights under the due process clause of the fourteenth and sixth amendments to the United States Constitution were violated when the trial judge refused a request by Lowery's counsel to be allowed to ask a question of the victim and have her answer made a part of the record. The victim was called to testify on behalf of the State. Following direct examination she was cross-examined first by Mr. Drake, representing defendant Paige, and then by Mr. Collini, representing defendant Lowery. The State then examined her on redirect and Mr. Drake conducted a recross-examination, during the course of which he asked a question which the trial judge would not allow her to answer because he found the question not to be in rebuttal. Upon request by Mr. Drake, the trial judge allowed the witness to answer the question for the record during a recess. After the witness had answered, Mr. Collini stated that he, too, had a question. The trial judge refused to allow the question on the basis that counsel had not asked to preserve an answer to any question that was disallowed during his examination. Nowhere is there any indication what question Mr. Collini wanted answered. The record indicates that the recess occured during cross-examination by Mr. Drake and that the purpose for questioning out of the jury's presence was to comply with Mr. Drake's request to be allowed to have the witness' answer put in the record. At one point during his own cross-examination, Mr. Collini was given an opportunity to be heard out of the jury's presence regarding a ruling on an objection by the State. Nothing in the record indicates that Mr. Collini conducted a recross-examination or asked to be allowed to preserve an answer to any question that he had posed to the witness. We find this assignment of error to be totally without merit.