Military Rule of Evidence 609 - How to Impeach a court martial witness by evidence of conviction of crime
For the purpose of questioning the credibility of the witness, (1) evidence that a witness besides the accused has been convicted of a crime shall be admitted, subject to rule 403, where the crime was punishable by death, dishonorable discharge, or imprisonment in excess of one year under the law under which the witness was convicted, and evidence that an accused has been convicted of such a crime must be admitted if the military judge holds that the probative value of admitting this evidence exceeds its prejudicial effect to the accused; and (2) evidence that any witness has been convicted of a crime must be allowed when it involved dishonesty or false statement, regardless of the punishment. When determining whether a crime tried by court-martial was punishable by death, dishonorable discharge, or imprisonment in excess of one year, the maximum punishment prescribed by the President under Article 56 at the time of the conviction applies without regard to whether the case was tried by general, special, or summary court- martial. Evidence of a conviction according to this rule is not admissible if a period of more than ten years has elapsed since the date of the conviction or of the release of the witness from the confinement imposed for that conviction, whichever is the later date, except when the court determines, in the interests of justice, that the probative value of the conviction sustained by specific facts and circumstances significantly outweighs its prejudicial effect. However, evidence of a conviction more than ten years old as calculated herein, is not admissible except when the proponent gives to the adverse party sufficient advance written notice of intent to use such evidence to provide the affected party with a fair opportunity to contest the use of such evidence.
Evidence of juvenile adjudications is generally not admissible under this rule. The military judge, however, can allow evidence of a juvenile adjudication of a witness besides the accused if conviction of the offense would be admissible to challenge the credibility of an adult and the military judge is convinced that admission in evidence is required for a fair determination of the issue of guilt or innocence. For purposes of this rule, there is a conviction in a court-martial case where a sentence has been adjudged.
Court Martial Lawyer Michael Waddington represents Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps servicemembers facing UCMJ actions.
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