Opinion ID: 509231
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Use of Prior Convictions in Cross-examination

Text: 25 Petitioners contend that they were denied a fair trial when, during the course of their cross-examinations, the trial court allowed the prosecutor, over defense counsel's objections, to inquire about the length of the sentences which the petitioners had received on prior criminal convictions. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals held, as a matter of state law, that [t]he sentence received is part and parcel of the conviction, and that if any error was committed by the admission of this testimony it was harmless. The scope of permissible cross-examination is clearly a matter of state law. Errors of application of state law, especially with regard to an evidentiary ruling are generally not cognizable in federal habeas corpus claims. Oliphant v. Koehler, 594 F.2d 547, 555 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 877 (1979). The exception is where the evidentiary ruling has deprived the defendant of some right or privilege under the Constitution. Combs v. Tennessee, 530 F.2d 695 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 954 (1976). 26 On appeal, petitioners argue that the prosecutor's use of this line of questioning was so blatantly improper and unfair that it amounted to prosecutorial misconduct which rendered the trial fundamentally unfair. We find this argument without merit. Without ruling on whether the inquiries made on cross-examination regarding the length of the petitioners' prior sentences were permissible under Tennessee law, we find that such questions did not violate the petitioners' federal Constitutional rights. 27