Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

115 N.J.L. 207

178 A 728

State v. Simon

Supreme Court of New Jersey

Decided May 17, 1935

Supreme Court of New Jersey · decided 1935-05-17

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1935-05-17

How this case has been cited

Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently August 1977

15 state decisions

9019351940195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Per Curiam.

¶1 The judgment under review should be affirmed, for the reasons expressed in the opinion by Mr. Justice Parker in the Supreme Court. However, we reserve opinion upon the question whether, in order to lay the foundation for impeaching a witness by a written statement, the writing containing such statement must be produced and shown, and also upon the intimation that such a paper when in the possession of a party need not be produced upon timely notice but only when subpoenaed. In the instant case there had been no notice to produce. The paper was in the possession of the special attorney-general, but was not in the court room and, so far as appears, was not in the vicinity of the court room. A party is not obliged to anticipate the need for, and to have in court, a paper of the character mentioned without prior *208 notice to produce. As indicated in the opinion of the Supreme Court the questions asked of the witness were not material toward a contradiction because, however answered, they would not constitute a contradiction of the testimony already given by the witness. So far as the record indicates, the cross-examining counsel did not have information regarding the contents of the papers and was making a fiare on the chance that the answers might contain something helpful to defendants. The practice by which a foundation is laid for the contradiction of a witness does not sustain a “fishing” expedition by way of cross-examination. No harm is shown to have come to the defendants by reason of the court’s rulings.

¶2 For affirmance — The Chancellor, Lloyd, Case, Donges, Heher, Perskie, Van Buskirk, Kays, Heteield, Dear, Wells, JJ. 11.

¶3 For reversal — None.

/115/njl/207 · .json · Public domain