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Defendant's cross-examination at suppression hearing did not impede his right to testify at trial

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant was subjected to a wideranging cross-examination at his suppression hearing, but it was all legitimate and went to his credibility. Also, he knew it was going to be extensive before he testified. Some of that ended up being used to impeach him when he testified at trial. It was not a violation of the Simmons rule and did not unconstitutionally impede his right to testify. United States v. Vaughn, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79830 (E.D. Cal. September 2, 2008): The defendant was warned, by one of the prosecutors, the day before taking the stand that government counsel anticipated extensive cross-examination. When defense counsel questioned how the government's cross-examination could possibly span hours longer than his direct, the prosecutor explained, and the Court agreed, that matters relevant to the defendant's credibility would be proper subjects of inquiry...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 14, 2008 (boomark / email).