People v. Smallwood

I cannot concur in reversal on the ground stated by Mr. Justice Butzel. This 1'5-year-old witness, on cross-examination, was asked:

“Now, Cathleen, you have been in trouble with the juvenile authorities before?”

The trial court, hearing the case without a jury, considered this to be an invasion of juvenile records and excluded the answer. Mr. Justice Butzel holds that the exclusion of the answer to this question was reversible error. While this ruling might have been premature, anticipating an actual attempt to offer the records in evidence, it was not reversible error. The reference to…