Opinion ID: 2273992
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Fifth Adverse RulingLeading Questions

Text: The fifth adverse ruling by the circuit court was in response to an objection to a series of leading questions during the direct examination of a witness for the State. The following colloquy occurred between the prosecutor and Mr. Jarrett, the witness: Q Did you finally end up out in, down in England with the roadblock? A Yes, sir. Q Okay. And were there handguns in the front seat? A In the front seat? Q Or in the, in the, inThere was [sic] some guns in the trunk. Right? A Right Q Did they have guns in the car? A Yeah. At this point, Mr. Moore objected to the questions as leading. Ark. R. Evid. 611(c) states, Leading questions should not be used on the direct examination of a witness except as may be necessary to develop his testimony. Ark. R. Evid. 611(c) (2004). In other words, the rule does not completely bar leading questions on direct, but gives the trial court discretion to permit leading questions to develop a witness's testimony. Chase v. State, 334 Ark. 274, 973 S.W.2d 791 (1998). Even though a question can be answered yes or no, it is not a leading question if it does not suggest a particular answer. Parker v. State, 266 Ark. 13, 582 S.W.2d 34 (1979). Here, the circuit court noted that the prosecutor was bordering on leading, and admonished him to let the witness testify. Furthermore, the witness had previously testified that there were guns in the trunk of the car and that guns had been fired while he was driving. The questions Mr. Moore objected to were used to clarify or highlight elements of the witness's previous testimony. We therefore hold that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion. Chase v. State, supra .