Form 203: Cross Exam Brief

• Library: Criminal Law Forms (ABA) (2013 Ed.)

Form 203: Cross Exam Brief

Cross Exam Brief

Defendant should not be deprived of the full right to Cross-Examine the Police Officers and witnesses at Trial

A paramount purpose of cross examination is the impeachment of the credibility of the witness." Perna v. Pirozzi, 92 N.J. 446, 456 (1983). Indeed, cross examination is generally considered the most effective means of challenging a witness's credibility. Biunno, Current N.J. Rules of Evidence, comment 6 on N.J.R.E. 607 (1998-1999) (citing State v. Silva, 131 N.J. 438, 444 (1993)). Certainly, a witness's bias may affect credibility. State v. Gorrell, 297 N.J. Super. 142, 149 (App. Div. 1996).

The NJ Supreme Court in State v Castagna 187 NJ 293 (2006) wrote:

"The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him." U.S. Const. amend. VI. The Confrontation Clause is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Painter v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 406, 85 S. Ct. 1065, 1069, 13 L. Ed.2d 923, 927-28 (1965). Our state constitution provides the same guarantee. N.J. Const. art. I, § 10.

"The central concern of the Confrontation Clause is to ensure the reliability of the evidence against a criminal defendant by subjecting it to rigorous testing in the context of an adversary proceeding before the trier of fact." Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836, 845, 110 S. Ct. 3157, 3163, 111 L. Ed. 2d 666, 678 (1990). In Craig, the United States Supreme Court outlined four key elements of a defendant's right of confrontation: physical presence; the oath; cross examination; and observation of demeanor by the trier of fact. Id. at 846, 110 S. Ct. at 3163, 111 L. Ed. 2d at 679; see also, State v. Smith, 158 N.J. 376, 385 (1999). In the present case we are concerned with cross-examination, which has been described as "the 'greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth.'" California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 158, 90 S. Ct. 1930, 1935, 26 L. Ed.2d 489, 497 (1970) (citation omitted); see also Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 316, 94 S. Ct. 1105, 1110, 39 L. Ed.2d 347, 353 (1973) (explaining that "cross-examination is the principal means by which the believability of a witness and the truth of his testimony are tested"); State v. Garron, 177 N.J. 147, 169 (2003) (noting right to confrontation "among the minimum essentials of a fair trial") (quoting Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 294...