3.8 Impeachment Evidence—Witness

           You have heard evidence that [name of witness], a witness, [specify basis for impeachment].  You may consider this evidence in deciding whether or not to believe this witness and how much weight to give to the testimony of this witness.

Comment

            Fed. R. Evid. 608 (A Witness’s Character for Truthfulness or Untruthfulness) and 609 (Impeachment by Evidence of a Criminal Conviction) place restrictions on the use of instances of past conduct and convictions to impeach a witness, and Fed. R. Evid. 105 (Limiting Evidence That Is Not Admissible Against Other Parties or for Other Purposes) gives a defendant the right to request a limiting instruction explaining that the use of this evidence is limited to credibility of the witness. 

Revised Mar. 2018