Evidence and Impeachment Methods

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to evidence and impeachment methods in legal contexts.

Impeachment

The process of challenging the credibility of a witness.

Character Evidence

Evidence used to show that a witness has a character for truthfulness or untruthfulness.

Rule 404

A rule that generally prohibits propensity evidence, with specific exceptions for witness testimony.

Rule 607

Any party may attack a witness's credibility, including the party that called the witness.

Rule 608(a)

A witness's credibility may be attacked or supported by reputation or opinion evidence.

Rule 608(b)

Extrinsic evidence is generally not admissible to prove specific instances of conduct to attack a witness's character.

You cannot introduce extrinsic evidence (like documents or another witness) to prove specific instances of a witness’s conduct just to attack or support their truthfulness.

BUT: The court may allow questions on cross-examination about specific acts, if they are probative of the witness’s truthfulness or untruthfulness.

This applies to:

• The witness currently testifying, or

• Another witness the current witness is testifying about (e.g., a character witness).

 Limitations:

• Court’s Discretion – The judge decides whether to allow the questioning under Rule 403 (balancing prejudice, confusion, etc.)

• Only About Truthfulness – You can’t use this rule to ask about violence, drug use, or other unrelated misconduct unless it directly ties to honesty/dishonesty.

• No Extrinsic Evidence – If the witness denies the act, you’re stuck with the answer — you can’t bring in outside proof to contradict them.

Specific Instances of Conduct

Particular actions that may indicate a witness's character for truthfulness or untruthfulness.

Rule 609

Regulations concerning the use of evidence from a witness’s criminal convictions to assess their truthfulness.

Rule 609 allows a witness’s credibility to be impeached using prior criminal convictions under specific conditions. Crimes involving dishonesty or false statements (like fraud or perjury) are always admissible, regardless of the punishment. For other felonies punishable by more than one year, the rules differ: if the witness is the defendant, the conviction is only admissible if its probative value outweighs its prejudicial effect; for all other witnesses, it’s admissible unless its prejudicial effect substantially outweighs its value. Convictions older than ten years are generally inadmissible unless their probative value substantially outweighs the prejudice, and the opposing party is given advance notice. Extrinsic evidence of the conviction is not allowed unless the witness denies it, and convictions that have been pardoned or overturned due to innocence or rehabilitation are inadmissible.

Probative Value

The ability of evidence to make a case more or less likely to be true.

Cross-Examination

The questioning of a witness in a trial or hearing by the opposing party.