When will a defendant be allowed to question an eyewitness at a preliminary hearing?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from McDaniel v. Superior Court, 126 Cal.Rptr. 136, 55 Cal.App.3d 803 (Cal. App. 1976):

Jennings v. Superior Court, supra, 66 Cal.2d 867, 880, 59 Cal.Rptr. 440, 428 P.2d 304, holds a defendant at a preliminary hearing must be permitted, if he chooses, to elicit testimony or introduce evidence tending to overcome the prosecution's case or establish an affirmative defense. It is not a valid objection that examination of a witness may lead to the discovery of what the facts were. That is the very purpose of examining a witness. If the questioning is not otherwise objectionable, the court should allow reasonable latitude in the defense questioning of an eyewitness at the preliminary hearing.

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