Just What Evidence of Witness Misdeeds Does the Federal Evidence Rule 608(b) Exclude? - Imwinkelried vs. Rothstein
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Authors
Rothstein, Paul
Issue Date
2015-12
Volume
49
Issue
1
Type
Journal Article
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Professor Edward Imwinkelried, one of the country's most renowned Evidence scholars, in a recent article in this journal, perceptively identifies three specific examples of evidence of a witness's prior unconvicted-for misconduct which he correctly believes should be admissible to impeach the witness's credibility in the discretion of the trial judge: 1. Evidence of demonstrably false accusations of rape against the present defendant by the complaining witness in a rape prosecution which the witness will not admit to during cross examination; 2. Documentary evidence providing a misdeed of a testifying witness clearly evincing the witness's lack of credibility, where the witness himself on cross exam could authenticate the document so it could be used conveniently and expeditiously without undue time consumption; and 3. Evidence of the result in a civil action, for example, where the witness was a party and an adverse critic clearly establishes his position was fabricated, or where he was only a witness but the verdict makes it clear the trier of fact rejected his contention as fabricated...
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Creighton University School of Law