People v. Marcroft

Opinion

RYLAARSDAM, P. J.

We hold that a trial court may not, as an aid to settling a statement on appeal, engage in ex parte communications with a witness. A posttrial, off-the-record ex parte request that a witness restate his or her version of the facts in a memorandum to the court is clearly improper and must be disapproved. We find that a settled statement certified subsequent to the court’s receipt of such a communication so infects the integrity of the statement as to entitle the defendant to a new trial. In this case, due to the relatively minor nature of the infraction and the amount…