Opinion ID: 396196
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Limitation on Repetitious Cross-Examination

Text: 25 O'Connor claims that his right to cross-examine witnesses against him was denied when the trial court refused to allow his lawyer to repeat questions already asked or to explore areas already covered by Coven's cross-examination. Federal Rule of Evidence 611(a) permits the trial court to exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses in order to make the interrogation ... effective for the ascertainment of the truth (and to) avoid needless consumption of time .... While the trial court's discretion to curtail cross-examination is limited by the Sixth Amendment, Smith v. Illinois, 390 U.S. 129, 88 S.Ct. 748, 19 L.Ed.2d 956 (1968), we do not believe that the limit was reached in this case. 26 The trial court cut short the questioning by O'Connor's lawyer several times, but reminded defense counsel frequently that he would be permitted to expand upon or delve more deeply into areas covered during Coven's cross-examination. O'Connor's lawyer was prevented only from asking the same questions that Coven's lawyer had asked. The trial court's ruling here was reasonable and did not preclude O'Connor from effectively cross-examining witnesses. See United States v. Praetorius, 622 F.2d 1054, 1061 (2d Cir. 1979), cert. denied sub nom. Lebel v. United States, 449 U.S. 860, 101 S.Ct. 162, 66 L.Ed.2d 76 (1980).