Boller v. Cofrances

Virginia Boller (plaintiff) sued Cofrances (defendant) after her husband was killed in a car accident in which a female passenger was present. Boller claimed the defendant caused the accident; the defendant asserted her husband was contributorily negligent. On direct, Boller testified she and her husband were happily married. On cross, defense counsel asked whether she knew of her husband's affair with the passenger. The judge struck the question and told the jury to disregard it as beyond the scope of direct. Boller appealed, arguing the question itself prejudiced the jury.

Whether the scope of cross-examination is limited to only the matters raised on direct examination.