Legal Opinion
People v. Allen
Michigan Supreme Court
Decided February 16, 1988No. Docket Nos. 70740, 71633, 72346, 72753, 73297, (Calendar Nos. 1-5)PublishedCited by 114 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtBrickley, J.
These cases were consolidated in order to resolve differing interpretations of the application of MRE 609(a) to the practice of impeaching criminal defendants by prior conviction.
We find that MRE 609(a), as presently constituted, leads to an interpretation that encourages the use of "bad man” evidence without a commensurate gain in the evaluation of a witness’ testimony. More specifically, the central element in the exercise of discretion in this area, i.e., the extent to which the prior conviction is probative of credibility, has been greatly de-emphasized. The lower courts have focused…
2Cases cited45 opinions
- Bruton v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1968
- Richardson v. MarshSupreme Court of the United States · 1987
- Luce v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- People v. SandovalNew York Court of Appeals · 1974
- Spencer v. TexasSupreme Court of the United States · 1966
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3Cited by114 opinions
- People v. VanderVlietMichigan Supreme Court · 1993
- People v. CrawfordMichigan Supreme Court · 1998
- People v. Watkins; People v. PullenMichigan Supreme Court · 2012
- United States v. Nicolas GomezCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2014
- State v. JamesTennessee Supreme Court · 2002
109 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.