United States v. Douglas L. Oakes

LEVIN H. CAMPBELL, Circuit Judge.

Douglas L. Oakes was convicted of possession and transfer of an unregistered sub-machine gun. At trial, the district court refused to rule prior to the defendant’s opening on whether the Government could introduce evidence of a prior manslaughter conviction to impeach the defendant’s credibility. When defendant took the stand, the court ruled that the probative value of the conviction outweighed its prejudicial effect, and allowed the conviction to be established by a certified docket entry. Defendant appeals from these rulings.

In regard to timing, Oakes asks…