Collateral Fact Rule: Court Martial Trial Attorney
The Collateral Fact Rule is applicable to impeachment as per Rule 608(b) and the cross-examination of a character witness under Rule 405(a). If the rule is not applicable, the cross-examiner may question the witness and offer extrinsic evidence. This rule does not apply to:
(a) Bias under Rule 608(c);
(b) Defects in capacity (United States v. White, 45 M.J. 345 (1996));
(c) Prior inconsistent statements under Rule 613 and 801(d)(1)(A);
(d) Impeachment by contradiction; or
(e) Impeachment under Mil.R.Evid 609.
In United States v. Kasper, 58 M.J. 314 (2003), the CAAF ruled that human lie detector testimony by an OSI agent violates the limits on character evidence in Rule 608(a) because it offers an opinion of the declarants truthfulness on a specific occasion. At trial, an OSI agent testified that her training had helped her to identify whether subjects were being truthful in interviews.
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