United States v. Owens

The appellant, Gary Owens, was convicted for the unpremeditated murder of his wife, whom he shot with a hunting rifle. The government contended that he shot his wife in anger following a domestic dispute. Owens claimed that he accidentally shot her and took the witness stand in his own defense. On cross-examination, the trial counsel questioned the Owens about omissions regarding previous convictions on his application for military promotion.

Under Military Rule of Evidence 608(b) and under Federal Rule of Evidence 608(b), trial counsel is authorized to impeach appellant by extracting on cross-examination his admission to a prior act of intentional falsehood under oath. In this case, (1) the admission was relevant under Federal Rule of Evidence 401 / Military Rule of Evidence 401, because the prior convictions and arrests were the matters omitted in his answers, and were thus relevant to establish the prior act of falsehood; (2) there was no alternative evidence to establish acts of prior falsehood; and (3) the strength of the evidence showing Owens' prior falsehood was considerable.

Impeachment | Character of the Witness | Prior Bad Acts