Butler v. United States

I write separately to underscore the narrowness of the court’s opinion.

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In citing Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38, 105 S.Ct. 460, 83 L.Ed.2d 443 (1984), the court today does not formally adopt it. Luce held that, in order “to raise and preserve for review the claim of improper impeachment with a prior conviction, a defendant must testify.” Id. at 43,105 S.Ct. at 464. Here, in contrast, in order to rebut Butler’s anticipated accusations of police bias, fabrication, and harassment, the government sought to introduce in evidence six of Butler’s prior “bad acts,” as reflected in three police…