Ballard v. Commonwealth

I respectfully dissent from the majority decision because I believe the trial judge did not abuse his discretion when he excluded a witness pursuant to RCr 9.48 and he did not abuse his discretion by denying a motion for a new trial.

The trial judge clearly considered the matter and determined that O.W. Ballard’s viewing of a significant portion of the child’s video-taped testimony violated RCr 9.48 and resulted in prejudice under the facts and circumstances of the case. This was a proper exercise of discretion by the trial judge and was not an automatic exclusion of a witness.

The trial judge…