Opinion ID: 2107127
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: The Standard with Respect to the Cross-Examination Issue

Text: It is certainly true that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses   . State v. Merida, 960 A.2d 228, 234 (R.I.2008); see also State v. Tiernan, 941 A.2d 129, 133-34 (R.I.2008); State v. Parillo, 480 A.2d 1349, 1356-57 (R.I.1984). It is also true, however, that said right is not unlimited; it is subject to being tempered by the dictates of practicality and judicial economy. State v. Burke, 574 A.2d 1217, 1222 (R.I.1990); see also Merida, 960 A.2d at 234; State v. Lopez, 943 A.2d 1035, 1042 (R.I.2008); State v. Ramirez, 936 A.2d 1254, 1261 (R.I.2007). A trial justice's exercise of discretion in limiting the scope of cross-examination will not be disturbed on appeal unless there has been a clear abuse of that discretion. Merida, 960 A.2d at 234; see also State v. Silvia, 898 A.2d 707, 715 (R.I.2006); State v. Feole, 748 A.2d 239, 242 (R.I.2000). At the same time, it must always be remembered that the discretionary authority to limit cross-examination comes into play only after there has been permitted as a matter of right sufficient cross-examination to satisfy the Sixth Amendment. State v. Freeman, 473 A.2d 1149, 1153-54 (R.I.1984) (emphasis added) (internal brackets omitted); see also Lopez, 943 A.2d at 1042; State v. Toole, 640 A.2d 965, 976 (R.I.1994); see generally United States v. Tracey, 675 F.2d 433, 437 (1st Cir.1982) ([T]he judge's discretionary limitation of cross-examination must be done with the utmost caution and solicitude for the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights.) (internal quotation marks omitted).