California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lincoln A. (In re Lincoln A.), B245096 (Cal. App. 2014):
The entirety of the hearing testimony presented the juvenile court with a credibility conflict between appellant and B.N. The court, as the factfinder, was able to assess B.N.'s capacity "ability to perceive, recall or describe the events" about which she testified. (People v. Gurule, supra, 28 Cal.4th at p. 592.) The court clearly considered these issues and found B.N. competent to testify and deemed her account credible. It is difficult to conceive how a different result might have been reached had appellant been permitted to explore B.N.'s mental health history.
Even if the trial court erred, the error was harmless under the standard of prejudice set forth in People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836. Under that standard, reversal is required, "if, taking into account the entire record, it appears '"reasonably probable"' the
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