State v. Outlaw

WEBB, Justice.

The question posed by this appeal is whether a defendant may be impeached by requiring him to answer a question as to whether he has been convicted of another crime when his plea of no contest to such a crime has been accepted. N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 609(a) provides:

For the purpose of attacking the credibility of a witness, evidence that he has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than 60 days confinement shall be admitted if elicited from him or established by public record during cross-examination or thereafter.

The resolution of this appeal depends on whether the phrase…