McAmis v. Commonwealth

The question for decision in this criminal case is whether a defendant who takes the witness stand in his own defense and testifies on direct examination that he has been convicted previously of a certain number of felonies may be required on cross-examination to divulge the names of those felonies.

The question arose in the jury trial of George McAmis for grand larceny. McAmis took the witness stand in his own defense and on direct examination stated that he had been convicted previously of six felonies. When the Commonwealth sought on cross-examination to bring out the names of the felonies,…