PEOPLE OF MI V RICHARD KERRY MATHEWS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
December 30, 1997
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 194741
Ottawa Circuit Court
LC No. 95-019169 FH
RICHARD KERRY MATHEWS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Griffin, P.J., and Markman and Whitbeck, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Defendant appeals by right his jury conviction of one count of first-degree criminal sexual
conduct, MCL 750.520b; MSA 28.788(2). Defendant contends that the trial court abused its
discretion in excluding proffered photographic evidence that was intended to show that the minor victim
in this case was biased against defendant and had a motive to bring false charges.
Trial courts possess necessarily broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence of
witness bias. People v Dye, 356 Mich 271, 277; 96 NW2d 788 (1959). The trial court did not abuse
its discretion in finding the proffered evidence of such tangential relevance as not to meet the threshold
criteria for admissibility under MRE 402. Additionally, before a witness can be impeached by calling
other witnesses to prove acts or declarations showing bias, the witness under attack must first have
been asked about those facts and cross-examined thereon. People v Harrell, 54 Mich App 554, 561
562; 221 NW2d 411 (1974), aff’d 398 Mich 384; 247 NW2d 829 (1976). Since the victim was
never cross-examined on this subject, the evidence was also inadmissible for this additional reason.
Defendant has established no abuse of the trial court’s discretion.
Affirmed.
/s/ Richard Allen Griffin
/s/ Stephen J. Markman
/s/ William C. Whitbeck
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