State v. Ruiz

EISMANN, Chief Justice.

This appeal challenges.the district court’s ruling that the defendant could not cross-examine a codefendant about the mandatory prison sentence he avoided by agreeing to testify for the State. We hold that the district court erred by not conducting the analysis required by Rule 403 of the Idaho Rules of Evidence, and we vacate the judgment of conviction.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In November 2004, a twenty-year-old woman was arrested for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, a felony with a maximum penalty of incarceration for five years and a fine…