United States v. Webster

734 F.2d 1191 (1984)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Webster

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
734 F.2d 1191 (1984)

Play video

Facts

Clinton Webster (defendant) was charged with aiding and abetting the robbery of a bank. At Webster’s trial, the Government offered the testimony of the bank robber, King. Before calling King to the stand, the prosecution (plaintiff) asked the court to allow the prosecutor to conduct a voir dire examination of King outside the presence of the jury because she did not know what King’s testimony would be. Webster’s counsel objected, and the voir dire was not done. King then gave testimony that exculpated Webster. To impeach King, the prosecutor introduced King’s prior inconsistent statements to the FBI in which he inculpated Webster. The statements were admitted, and the judge instructed the jury that the out-of-court statements were to be considered for impeachment only and not as substantive evidence of Webster’s guilt. Webster was convicted and appealed his conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On appeal, Webster asserted that the trial court erroneously allowed King’s prior inconsistent statements to be used as impeachment evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 607. Webster claimed that prosecutors’ use of impeachment by prior inconsistent statement under Rule 607 should be limited to when the prosecutor is surprised and harmed by the witness’s testimony, regardless of the prosecutor’s good faith in offering the testimony.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Posner, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership