State v. Suddeth

ALLBEE, Justice.

The question here is whether trial court erred when refusing to permit defendant to demonstrate before the jury the fit of a pair of shoes, allegedly worn during the commission of a robbery, without becoming a witness and thereby subject to cross-examination and impeachment predicated upon his prior felony record. We hold that this refusal constituted prejudicial error.

I. In October 1979, a Des Moines Hy-Vee food store was robbed by a person wearing women’s apparel. Eyewitness accounts established that the robber was attired in a wig, white shawl, yellow dress, hose, high…