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Federal Evidence • Witness Impeachment
EVID#094
Legal Definition
A witness may be impeached by misdemeanor convictions involving dishonesty or false statements, and the court has no discretion to balance unless the conviction is older than 10 years. Convictions for misdemeanors not involving dishonesty or false statements are inadmissible to impeach.
Plain English Explanation
Imagine you're watching a court trial, and there's a witness giving their side of the story. Now, let's say this witness has a history of small crimes, like shoplifting or speeding. The law treats these past actions differently based on what they were about. If these small crimes involved lying or being dishonest - like writing a bad check or stealing in a sneaky way - the court thinks it's important to know. It's like saying, "This person has lied before, so keep that in mind when you're listening to them now." It's a way to check if the witness might be bending the truth again.
But, there's a time limit. If these dishonesty-related crimes happened more than a decade ago, they're considered too old to matter. The law believes people can change over time.
On the other hand, if the witness's past small crimes are things that have nothing to do with lying - like a simple traffic ticket - the court doesn't care about those. They're not seen as relevant to whether the person is likely to lie or not. It's all about focusing on what really matters to find out the truth in the case.
But, there's a time limit. If these dishonesty-related crimes happened more than a decade ago, they're considered too old to matter. The law believes people can change over time.
On the other hand, if the witness's past small crimes are things that have nothing to do with lying - like a simple traffic ticket - the court doesn't care about those. They're not seen as relevant to whether the person is likely to lie or not. It's all about focusing on what really matters to find out the truth in the case.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob is a witness in a trial where he's testifying against Sam. Bob was convicted of writing bad checks 5 years ago. Result: The court allows this past misdemeanor conviction to be used against Bob to question his honesty, because the crime involved dishonesty and it's within the 10-year limit.
Hypo 2: In another case, Bob is testifying and it's revealed that he was convicted of shoplifting 12 years ago. Result: This time, the court does not allow the use of this past misdemeanor for impeachment, as it's older than 10 years, even though it involved dishonesty.
Hypo 3: Bob, testifying in court, has a past misdemeanor for a minor traffic violation 3 years ago. Result: The court does not consider this past misdemeanor for impeachment because it's not related to dishonesty or false statements.
Hypo 2: In another case, Bob is testifying and it's revealed that he was convicted of shoplifting 12 years ago. Result: This time, the court does not allow the use of this past misdemeanor for impeachment, as it's older than 10 years, even though it involved dishonesty.
Hypo 3: Bob, testifying in court, has a past misdemeanor for a minor traffic violation 3 years ago. Result: The court does not consider this past misdemeanor for impeachment because it's not related to dishonesty or false statements.
Visual Aids
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