Court Opinion

ID: 9520857
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:51:56.201842+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:47:04.845208
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing.
SATHRE, Judge.
The defendant has presented a lengthy petition for rehearing. All of the points raised were fully considered and disposed of in the opinion upholding defendant’s conviction. One of the points raised in the petition is that it was error on the part of the trial court, on objection by the state, to exclude certain testimony sought to be elicited from the state’s witness Amsden on cross-examination all of which is set forth in detail in the original opinion. The witness was asked by counsel for Malnourie: “Did you see Malnourie fall to the ground after being struck by Pavlenko?” The state’s attorney objected to this testimony on the ground that the witness had not testified “as to any of this matter on direct examination, and that it is improper cross-examination”. The Court sustained the objection on the ground of improper cross-examination. The counsel for Malnourie then stated: “This is going to credibility. I am asking in each instance ‘did you see’ ” ? The Court: “I don’t see how it affects his credibility. I will sustain the objection”. The witness had not at any time stated that he had or had not seen Malnourie fall to the ground. Whether he had answered the question either “yes” or “no”, it could be no test of his credibility. Nor could any answer to the question be grounds for impeachment of the witness because no ground had been laid for impeachment. The objection to the testimony sought to be elicited was properly sustained on the ground that it could not affect the credibility of the witness. Furthermore, as we said in the opinion herein, the testimony which counsel sought to elicit from the witness Amsden had reference to mistreatment of Malnourie who was not a party to this appeal.
The defendant contends that if the opinion herein is permitted to stand it unduly restricts the right of cross-examination of state’s witnesses by a defendant in a criminal case. No restriction of said rule was intended, nor does the language employed justify such inference. Defendant cites the cases of State v. Hazlett, 14 N.D. 490, 105 N.W. 617, State v. Schmidt, 72 N.D. 719, 10 N.W.2d 868, and State v. Bossart, 62 N.D. 11, 241 N.W. 78, in support of his contention.
We have carefully considered these cases. There is no language in the opinion in the instant case that can legitimately be construed to restrict the rule as announced in the cases cited.
Rehearing denied.
BURKE, C. J., and JOHNSON, GRIM-SON and MORRIS, JJ., concur.