Impeachment of Defendant — Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b)) is a legal process regulated by the Federal Rules of Evidence (F.R.E.) which allows attorneys to impeach a witness’s credibility by introducing evidence of prior bad acts committed by the witness. This is done in order to convince the jury that the witness’s testimony should not be believed. The three main types of Prior Bad Acts impeachment are (1) criminal convictions, (2) specific acts of misconduct, and (3) extrinsic evidence. Criminal convictions can be used to impeach a witness’s credibility if the conviction was for a crime of dishonesty or false statement. Specific acts of misconduct are used to impeach a witness’s credibility if the misconduct was related to the subject of the case. Extrinsic evidence is used to impeach a witness’s credibility if the evidence is relevant to the case and probative of the witness’s character for truthfulness.
Impeachment of Defendant — Prior Bad Acts (F.R.E. 608(b)) is a legal process regulated by the Federal Rules of Evidence (F.R.E.) which allows attorneys to impeach a witness’s credibility by introducing evidence of prior bad acts committed by the witness. This is done in order to convince the jury that the witness’s testimony should not be believed. The three main types of Prior Bad Acts impeachment are (1) criminal convictions, (2) specific acts of misconduct, and (3) extrinsic evidence. Criminal convictions can be used to impeach a witness’s credibility if the conviction was for a crime of dishonesty or false statement. Specific acts of misconduct are used to impeach a witness’s credibility if the misconduct was related to the subject of the case. Extrinsic evidence is used to impeach a witness’s credibility if the evidence is relevant to the case and probative of the witness’s character for truthfulness.
