I was watching My Cousin Vinny the other day and something stood out to me was that the Sheriff was called to the stand and provided testimony for the prosecution (I believe this was a pre-trial procedure and not part of the actual trial). The defense attorney had the opportunity for cross examination and declined.
Later in the movie when the defense was presenting their case, the defense attorney called the sheriff to the stand to testify on things that were unknown at beginning of the trial.
Assuming the sheriff's testimony was provided during the presentation of the prosecution's case, can the defense also call that witness during the presentation of their case? Presumably to ask questions and paint a different picture of the events without the color of the prosecution's questions.
What if the Sheriff's testimony was on matters that were known at the start of the trial?
