Opinion ID: 77852
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Cross-Examination of Herbert Lawrence

Text: Foley first argues that he was prejudiced by an improper question that the prosecutor asked his character witness, Herbert Lawrence, but even if the question was improper it did not prejudice Foley. During cross-examination, the prosecutor asked whether it would change Lawrence's opinion of Foley if he knew that Foley had used business funds to pay personal expenses and not reported that fact on his tax return. Foley argues that the government did not proffer a factual basis for the allegation that Foley committed tax fraud. When a witness has testified about a defendant's good character, it is permissible to inquire upon cross-examination about the defendant's prior misconduct so long as it is relevant and the government has some good-faith factual basis for the incidents inquired about. United States v. Wells, 525 F.2d 974, 977 (5th Cir.1976). There are problems with Foley's argument. First, the district court sustained Foley's objection to the question as irrelevant, after the government proffered its good-faith basis for the inquiry at sidebar. See id. (approving of such a procedure). Second, even if the question was improper, Foley cannot establish prejudice because this brief and isolated reference was unlikely to have affected the jury. The question did little to debilitate Lawrence's testimony about Foley's good character in the face of strong evidence of Foley's guilt.