Impeachment of Witness — Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b)) is a Federal Rule of Evidence (F.R.E.) that governs the admissibility of evidence concerning a witness' prior bad acts for the purpose of impeaching the witness' credibility. It is important to note that the prior bad act evidence must be relevant to the witness' truthfulness and must be used to impeach the witness' credibility, not to prove any other fact in the case. F.R.E. 608(b) provides that cross-examining a witness about specific prior bad acts is not prohibited and may be used for the purpose of attacking the witness' credibility. However, the prior bad acts may only be used to impeach the witness and not for any other purpose. Additionally, the cross-examining attorney must be able to establish the relevancy of the prior bad acts before the court can consider admitting them. There are two different types of Impeachment of Witness — Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b)): direct and indirect. Direct impeachment is the use of a prior bad act to attack the witness' credibility directly. The cross-examining attorney must be able to establish the relevancy of the prior bad act to the case before the court can consider admitting it. Indirect impeachment is the use of a prior bad act to establish the witness' bias or motive for testifying. The cross-examining attorney must still be able to establish the relevancy of the prior bad act before the court can consider admitting it.
Impeachment of Witness - Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b))
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FAQ
Unwary witnesses can be tripped up (impeached) by their own prior words, conduct, and reputation. Impeaching a witness refers to an attack on the witness's credibility. Opposing counsel uses this tactic to show the judge or jury that the witness's testimony should not be believed.
Rule 608 states that witnesses can be impeached or rehabilitated by either opinon or reputation evidence as to their veracity.
If a federal official commits a crime or otherwise acts improperly, the House of Representatives may impeach?formally charge?that official. If the official subsequently is convicted in a Senate impeachment trial, he is removed from office.
Rule 608(b) is an explicit acknowledgement that every witness who testifies places their character for truthfulness or untruthfulness at issue. An effective cross-examination, therefore, should seek to invoke Rule 608(b) broad grant of authority to test a witness's general character for truthfulness.
Under common law, a witness may be impeached by proof the witness has contradicted him- or herself through evidence of prior acts or statements that are inconsistent with testimony given on direct examination.
Primary tabs. Impeachment of a witness refers to the process of discrediting or undermining the credibility of a witness during a trial, by presenting evidence or asking questions that contradict their testimony or reveal a bias, inconsistency, or falsehood in their statements.
What about impeachment? As with corroboration, a statement is not hearsay if it is offered to impeach a testifying witness. This does not, however, create a ?back door? for admitting the impeaching statement as substantive evidence.
A witnesses may be impeached with evidence that shows a defect in his or her perception, memory, or truthfulness, such as evidence of bias, mistake, character for untruthfulness, or prior inconsistent statements.