Opinion ID: 421191
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Government's Promises of Consideration to Its Witnesses

Text: 15 Defendant's next contention is that the prosecutor improperly vouched for the credibility of some of the government's witnesses by asking each of them during direct examination if he had promised to testify truthfully in exchange for some form of consideration from the government. Each answered that he had and that he understood that if he did not testify truthfully he could be tried for perjury. Defendant argues that because the prosecutor did not stand up at trial and charge any of the government's witnesses with having breached his promise to testify truthfully, the jury probably thought that the government believed that none of its witnesses had breached his promise and that each had testified truthfully. But the result would have been the same had there been no mention of the promises. Unless the prosecutor had stood up and charged a witness with perjury, the jury would just as probably have thought that the government believed that its witnesses were telling the truth. Mention of the promises did not create the appearance that the government had a greater stake in the honesty of its witnesses. Perhaps the government has a slightly greater interest in charging a witness with perjury when the witness's promise to tell the truth was the consideration for the government's promise to grant immunity--proving perjury might be a prerequisite to rescinding the agreement--but no juror would be inclined to suppose that the difference is enough to make the government any more certain about the credibility of witnesses who make such promises. 16