Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, cross-examination should be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and issues affecting credibility unless the court permits otherwise. If a defendant's attorney seeks to question a property manager about reasonable precautions, should the cross-examination be permitted over objection?

• A. It is limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and credibility unless the court permits otherwise.
• B. It may include any topic the attorney wishes to explore.
• C. Cross-examination can only address admissible evidence already admitted.
• D. It is allowed only if the witness has been declared hostile.

Answer: (A)

Cross-examination must stay within the subject matter of the witness’s direct testimony and anything affecting credibility, unless the court grants permission to broaden it. In this scenario, questioning a property manager about reasonable precautions would be permissible only if those precautions were within what the manager testified about on direct, or if they relate to credibility or impeachment and the court agrees to extend the scope. If the topic of reasonable precautions wasn’t covered on direct and isn’t tied to credibility, the judge should limit cross-examination to the original scope unless there’s a valid reason to broaden it. The judge also has broad discretion to permit additional topics, but absent that permission, the cross-examination remains limited as stated.