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Commonwealth v. Robinson

Citations

  • 491 A.2d 107
  • 507 Pa. 522
  • 1985 Pa. LEXIS 381

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • disallowing inquiry into a witness’ motive is highly prejudicial in cases which hinge on credibility
  • disallowing inquiry into a witness' motive is highly prejudicial in cases which hinge on credibility
  • “[A] witness may be cross-examined for the purpose of showing a motive to give false testimony.”
  • cross-examination may be employed to test witness’s story, impeach credibility, and establish motive for testifying
  • “Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to confront witnesses against them, which includes the right to cross-examine[.]”
  • where prosecution and defense witnesses presented conflicting versions of the facts, and credibility of the witnesses was therefore pivotal, the trial court committed reversible error by restricting cross-examination as to the bias of the prosecution’s chief witness

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Nix, Larsen, Flaherty, McDermott, Hutchinson, Zappala, Papadakos

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

20 cases in this archive cite this case.

Cites

9 cases in this archive are cited by this case.

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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.