Bertear v. State
Bertear v. State
Opinion of the Court
On the trial of the case each of the
On the trial of the case Mrs. Dow was called as a witness on behalf of the state and under cross-examination was inquired of as to whether she knew that her husband had been promised immunity in connection with his plea of guilty. When the question was propounded the court informed the jury that it was a direct reflection upon the court and the prosecuting attorney’s office and informed counsel that to ask the question was very unethical conduct unless he had substantial grounds for asking it. This statement, in a somewhat more elaborate form, was excepted to by counsel for the defendants. It appears from the record that counsel who asked the question stood at the bench shortly theretofore when Dow pleaded guilty and on that occasion Dow had been inquired of whether anybody had promised him anything for so doing and answered “no,” in the presence of counsel on both sides. We assume, of course, that counsel would not be bound' by the answer of Dow thus made. At the stage in the trial where this incident occurred, Norman Dow had not testified and, of course, counsel for the defense was not aware whether he would be called as a witness. We think it was entirely premature to inject into the record something intended to affect his credibility before he had been called as a witness. We do not fiind any prejudicial error in the action of the court in reprimanding counsel for asking the question under the circumstances, in view of the fact not only that the matter was premature but that it appears from the record that no foundation in fact existed for asking the question.
We have examined all the errors assigned and find none to the prejudice of plaintiff in error. For the reasons stated the judgment will be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.