Opinion ID: 1443915
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Motions Before and During the Trial

Text: Shortly before trial, the case was reassigned to Superior Court Judge Ralph Beistline, who had recently been appointed to the bench. Approximately one month later, the Wassermans invited the defendants to stipulate to a bench trial. The defendants accepted, so long as the case was tried before Judge Beistline. During discovery one of the Wassermans' witnesses, Delores Delacruz, stated at her deposition that she would not answer questions without first obtaining immunity from future contacts with police agencies. The Wassermans said that they intended to call Delacruz as a witness at trial, and moved for a protective order. [6] This motion was denied. On the fourth day of trial, when the Wassermans stated that they would call Delacruz as a witness, the defendants expressed surprise and moved to strike her from the witness list. The court granted the motion to strike. [7] The court's rationale for excluding her testimony was that the defense had been denied discovery of her testimony, and that it would merely be cumulative. The Wassermans later attempted to call Delacruz as a rebuttal witness. The court denied this request for similar reasons.