Maryland Criminal & Immigration Lawyer Blog
In a criminal trial, the difference between an acquittal and a conviction may often come down to which witnesses the jury finds more believable. To that end, one of the biggest keys to a successful defense is having a cross-examination that will effectively impeach (in other words, diminish or destroy) the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses. Effective impeachment can be what provides a jury with reasonable doubt. To ensure you have the strongest possible defense on all fronts, you should make sure you have a knowledgeable Maryland criminal defense lawyer on your side.
A felony case from 2023 (and that came before the Appellate Court earlier this month) is an example of what the defense may probe as part of the impeachment process.
The alleged victim in the case, C.W., was the state’s star witness and her mother, M.W., also testified for the prosecution.
The alleged victim and her mother also were undocumented immigrants from Guatemala. As part the accused’s strategy, defense counsel desired to question both the accuser and her mother about potential benefits the government had offered them for their testimony; specifically, immigration benefits.
The defense, possessing potential evidence that the alleged victim spoke to an immigration attorney and Googled “what is a U visa?” four or five times on the internet, wanted to ask both C.W. and M.W. whether they had sought to obtain U visas in exchange for their testimony against the defendant, A.L. (The “U visa” is a special immigration status “for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.” This grants the visa holder legal status and the ability to obtain a green card after three years.)
The trial judge refused to allow the defense to ask those questions. The judge noted that “there’s been no benefit received, and there’s no attempt to receive a benefit. The only thing we have is an inquiry.”
The jury eventually convicted A.L.
On appeal, the Appellate Court threw out the man’s conviction. The court noted that Maryland law gives a criminal defendant broad latitude in seeking to impeach a prosecution witness. Areas that the rules allow the defense to probe include “proving that the witness is biased, prejudiced, interested in the outcome of the proceeding, or has a motive to testify falsely.”
The Defense Was Denied an Adequate Opportunity to Probe Bias
The Appellate Court concluded that the trial judge allowed the defense to question the mother on the record, which was the proper step, but then did not give the defense team “an adequate opportunity to question [C.W.] about every fact that would reasonably suggest the existence of bias.” Specifically, the court noted, when the trial judge refused to allow the defense to question the alleged victim about the U visa, “the circuit court denied defense counsel the opportunity to question the one witness who would know the most about C.W.’s potential interest in acquiring a U visa in exchange for her testimony against [A.L.]: C.W. herself.” When the trial court made that ruling, it denied defense counsel “an adequate opportunity to question [C.W.] about every fact that would reasonably suggest the existence of bias.” In other words, it denied the defense an opportunity to ask a question that might have diminished juror’s confidence in C.W.’s truthfulness.
That denial was a harmful error and required that A.L. receive a new trial.
Effective cross examination of prosecution witnesses that is designed to reduce those witnesses’ credibility is a vital part of a defense case. Knowing what questions to ask — and how and when to ask them — also plays an essential role. That is why, if you are facing a criminal trial, you need experienced counsel. The skilled Maryland criminal defense attorneys at Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC can help you. We have been effectively defending the accused in Maryland for many years and are here to fight for your rights, too. Contact us today at 301-519-2801 or via our online form to set up your consultation.