People v. Smith

In these three consolidated appeals, the Court of Appeals considered whether the trial courts abused their discretion in precluding cross-examination into allegations of a law enforcement officer’s prior misconduct made in an unrelated federal lawsuit. The Court of Appeals applied well-established rules governing the use of this type of impeachment material to the specific facts of these cases and affirmed the orders of the Appellate Division in two cases and reversed in the third case, holding that law enforcement witnesses should be treated in the same manner as any other prosecution witness for purposes of cross-examination. View "People v. Smith" on Justia Law