United States v. Rodriguez-Berrios
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
573 F.3d 55 (2009)
- Written by Kyli Cotten, JD
Facts
Eddie Samir Rodriguez-Berrios (Rodriguez) (defendant) was charged with committing a carjacking that resulted in the death of his ex-wife. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) introduced witnesses who provided hearsay statements made by the deceased ex-wife that described the abuse she underwent at the hands of Rodriguez. During Rodriguez’s direct examination, his counsel attempted to play tapes that were recordings of the ex-wife’s phone conversations before she died. According to Rodriguez, the tone of his ex-wife in the tapes shows that she was joking because she said “well, he might kill me” and was heard laughing. Rodriguez argued that his ex-wife’s tone impeaches the hearsay statements about his abuse of her. The trial court excluded the tapes, ruling that they were not impeachment evidence.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lipez, J.)
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