State v. Agee

Summary

The Oregon Supreme Court granted reconsideration of its prior decision affirming Isacc Creed Agee’s aggravated-murder conviction. The court modified its opinion to clarify that Agee effectively waived his first objection to the prosecutor’s questioning of a defense witness at a pretrial hearing, while adhering to its conclusion that any error from the later questioning was harmless.

Holdings

1. Defendant effectively waived his first objection by conceding that the prosecutor had reason to question Davenport about his prison-gang involvement and who ordered the murder.
2. Once the questioning moved into detailed exploration of the witnesses' and defendant's conduct and thoughts during the murder, requiring Davenport to answer effectively revealed his substantive trial testimony and exceeded the legitimate purpose of the hearing; the trial court therefore erred in overruling the second and third objections.
3. The court declined to reconsider its conclusion that any trial court error in permitting the extensive cross-examination of Davenport was harmless.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendant's concession that certain questioning of Davenport was proper constituted an effective waiver of his first objection.
2. Whether the court should reconsider its conclusion that any error in permitting extensive cross-examination of Davenport at the pretrial hearing was harmless.

Disposition

other