State vs. Jesse Ross Tolbert

Defendant appeals as of right from his conviction of aggravated assault. At trial the trial judge did not let defense counsel question the sole prosecution witness about the witness' guilty plea to extortion and subsequent judicial diversion. The court did allow questioning regarding the facts underlying the witness' prosecution. Defendant now alleges that this evidentiary ruling violated his rights under the confrontation clauses of the United States and Tennessee Constitutions. We hold that the trial court erred. Under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 608 defense counsel should have been allowed to question the witness regarding the guilty plea and judicial diversion. However, we conclude that the error is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We thus affirm the judgment of the trial court.