What is the test for impeaching a witness in a criminal case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Usher, E045025 (Cal. App. 5/28/2009), E045025. (Cal. App. 2009):

As a preliminary matter, "`[n]o witness[,] including a defendant who elects to testify in his own behalf[,] is entitled to a false aura of veracity.'" (People v. Muldrow (1988) 202 Cal.App.3d 636, 646.) Therefore, "if past criminal conduct amounting to a misdemeanor has some logical bearing upon the veracity of a witness in a criminal proceeding, that conduct is admissible, subject to trial court discretion, as `relevant' evidence under" California Constitution, article I, section 28, subdivision (d). (People v. Wheeler (1992) 4 Cal.4th 284, 295 (Wheeler).) In addition, "the admissibility of any past misconduct for impeachment is limited at the outset by the relevance requirement of moral turpitude. Beyond this, the latitude section 352 allows for exclusion of impeachment evidence in individual cases is broad." (Id. at p. 296, fn. omitted.)

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