U.S. v. Chisum, 77 M.J. 176

First Principles: Constitutional Matters: Generally

1. a constitutional error is harmless when it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained; to say that an error did not contribute to the ensuing verdict is not, of course, to say that the jury was totally unaware of that feature of the trial later held to have been erroneous, but rather, to find that error unimportant in relation to everything else the jury considered on the issue in question, as revealed in the record
2. when an error constitutes a constitutionally improper denial of a defendant’s opportunity to impeach a witness for bias, an appellate court’s harmless beyond a reasonable doubt review includes weighing the importance of the witness’s testimony in the prosecution’s case, whether the testimony was cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course, the overall strength of the prosecution’s case

Trial Stages: Appeals: Harmless / Prejudicial Error

1. a constitutional error is harmless when it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained; to say that an error did not contribute to the ensuing verdict is not, of course, to say that the jury was totally unaware of that feature of the trial later held to have been erroneous, but rather, to find that error unimportant in relation to everything else the jury considered on the issue in question, as revealed in the record
2. when an error constitutes a constitutionally improper denial of a defendant’s opportunity to impeach a witness for bias, an appellate court’s harmless beyond a reasonable doubt review includes weighing the importance of the witness’s testimony in the prosecution’s case, whether the testimony was cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course, the overall strength of the prosecution’s case
3. in this case, any error by the military judge in failing to inspect and order the disclosure of the mental health records of two government witnesses was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt where appellant was able to fully cross-examine the witnesses on their credibility and motive to misrepresent appellant’s conduct; under the circumstances, there was no reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different

Trial Stages: Appeals: Standards of Review, Burdens, etc.

1. a constitutional error is harmless when it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained; to say that an error did not contribute to the ensuing verdict is not, of course, to say that the jury was totally unaware of that feature of the trial later held to have been erroneous, but rather, to find that error unimportant in relation to everything else the jury considered on the issue in question, as revealed in the record
2. when an error constitutes a constitutionally improper denial of a defendant’s opportunity to impeach a witness for bias, an appellate court’s harmless beyond a reasonable doubt review includes weighing the importance of the witness’s testimony in the prosecution’s case, whether the testimony was cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course, the overall strength of the prosecution’s case