Impeachment of Defendant - Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b))

• Category: Federal - Jury Instructions - 5th Circuit - Civil - Instructions Use During Trial
• State: Multi-State
• Control #: US-3RDCIR-2-24-CR
• Format: Word

Description

Impeachment of Defendant - Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b)) Source: http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/model-criminal-jury-table-contents-and-instructions

Impeachment of Defendant — Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b)) is a legal procedure in which a defendant’s credibility is challenged by introducing evidence of their past acts. This procedure is allowed under the Federal Rules of Evidence (F.R.E.) 608(b). The goal of this procedure is to inform the jury that the defendant has a history of bad behavior so that they can make an informed decision about the reliability of their testimony. There are two types of impeachment of a defendant based on prior bad acts. The first type is direct impeachment, which occurs when the evidence of the defendant’s past acts is used to directly contradict their testimony in court. The second type is indirect impeachment, which occurs when the evidence of the defendant’s past acts is used to indirectly suggest that their testimony may be unreliable. The use of prior bad acts to impeach a defendant is highly controversial, and is subject to various restrictions. For example, the evidence must be related to truthfulness or untruthfulness, and must be more probative than prejudicial. Additionally, the court must make a determination of relevance before the evidence can be admitted.