United States v. Clemons
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
32 F.3d 1504 (1994)
- Written by Arlyn Katen, JD
Facts
Eugene Clemons and Dedrick Smith (defendants) were convicted of murdering a federal agent engaged in the performance of his official duties. Clemons shot and killed Special Agent George Douglas Althouse of the Drug Enforcement Administration during a carjacking that Clemons committed to steal an engine for Smith. Clemons and Smith later fled town after realizing that the car was likely a police car. Clemons and Smith were tried together in federal district court. At trial, Smith testified in his own defense. The district court did not allow the government (plaintiff) to cross-examine Smith about Smith’s prior conduct. However, the district court allowed Clemons’s attorney wide latitude in cross-examining Smith as a codefendant. Clemons’s attorney attempted to impeach Smith by asking Smith whether Smith had ever used or sold crack cocaine. Clemons and Smith both appealed from their convictions, and Smith argued in relevant part that the district court had erred by permitting Clemons to ask Smith impeaching questions that were irrelevant to Smith’s truthfulness under Federal Rule of Evidence 608.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kravitch, J.)
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