State v. Johnson

Agreeing with much of the opinion of Chief Justice Erickstad as I do, I regret that I must dissent on one point. I believe it was error to allow the State’s Attorney to interrogate the defendant as to nonexistent or unproved convictions and to interrogate as to arrests, as distinguished from convictions. I believe the asking of such questions is a fundamental invasion of the defendant’s rights, even in the absence of objection or motion to strike, so long as the State’s Attorney does not prove or offer to prove the existence of convictions to justify his right to ask the questions.

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