Opinion ID: 1678618
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Was cross-examination improperly restricted.

Text: A court service officer conducted a home study and made recommendations concerning custody to the court. One of the individuals interviewed for the study stated that she had serious concerns with Lou Anne obtaining custody of Ralandi and that Lou Anne's friends had reputations for drinking, partying, and wife swapping. On cross-examination Lou Anne's counsel established that the witness' knowledge was based on hearsay information from persons whose names she would not reveal, but believed were honest and truthful. Lou Anne's counsel continued with this line of questioning until curtailed by the trial court: THE COURT: We are not getting anywhere with this line of questions. I'll ask you to cut it off. [COUNSEL]: She's painting guilt by association. THE COURT: I've accepted that as objectionable. I've sustained the objection. I don't intend to consider it. And so consequently, we are getting nowhere. You're just arguing with her. We are not going to get anywhere with harassment. We will cover the entire ... community by the time you're done. I would suggest we drop that line of questioning and go on to something else. A party has the right to cross-examine all persons involved in the preparation of a court service report relating to custody. Schmitz v. Schmitz, 351 N.W.2d 143 (S.D.1984); Krebs v. Krebs, 83 A.D.2d 989, 443 N.Y.S.2d 530 (1981); Wunsch v. Wunsch, 248 Wis. 29, 20 N.W.2d 545 (1945). In a civil case, while the suppression of all cross-examination may amount to a denial of due process, restriction of cross-examination would rarely rise to constitutional dimensions, although it might amount to an abuse of discretion where the probative value of the excluded evidence was sufficiently high. 3 J. Weinstein and M. Berger, Weinstein's Evidence ¶ 611-46 (1988). Once the right of cross-examination has been substantially and fairly exercised, the allowance of further cross-examination is discretionary. 81 Am.Jur.2d Witnesses § 464 (1976). Lou Anne's counsel was permitted to impeach the witness. The court determined that Lou Anne's counsel was not accomplishing anything further by continuing, except argument. Counsel failed to make an offer of proof to show otherwise and the record does not reveal that the trial court abused its discretion in restricting the cross-examination. AFFIRMED. WUEST, C.J., and MORGAN and MILLER, JJ., concur. HENDERSON, J., concurring specially.