Abstract
Testimony by live witnesses in open court forms the basis of the American trial. Today, almost anyone having relevant information is competent to testify., Fact-finders know, however, that not all testimony should be given the same weight. A witness may have failed to perceive events clearly or have forgotten important details. A witness may give ambiguous testimony or simply be lying. Cross-examination is the tool designed to reveal these defects. Cross-examiners can use several different means to suggest a witness is lying. Two of the most important are to show a witness has a criminal conviction or committed a bad act sometime in the past. In both instances the questioner wants the fact-finder to infer the witness is not a law-abiding or moral person and therefore cannot be trusted to tell the truth.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.63140/.q1f16hgio
Recommended Citation
Zeigler, Donald H.
(2003)
"Harmonizing Rules 609 and 608(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 2003:
No.
2, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.63140/.q1f16hgio
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2003/iss2/3