Opinion ID: 444179
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Government's Attempts to Impeach Defendant

Text: 37 Defendant contends that the government's attempts to impeach him at his second trial with inconsistent testimony elicited at the first trial were improper on four occasions and amounted to plain error, requiring reversal and a new trial. Defendant argues that the first three allegedly improper impeachment attempts referred to answers to questions at the first trial which were taken out of context, or were in response to questions completely different from those asked at the second trial. The fourth allegedly improper attempted impeachment was not completed, and defendant argues that such incomplete impeachment is improper. 38 Reversal for plain error requires obvious, substantial error, and should be granted only in exceptional circumstances. United States v. Jackson, 542 F.2d 403, 409 (7th Cir.1976); United States v. Greene, 497 F.2d 1068, 1077 (7th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 909, 95 S.Ct. 829, 42 L.Ed.2d 839 (1975). Defendant had the opportunity to object to the impeachment attempts at trial, which he exercised in all but the second allegedly improper impeachment, and he stated the reasons why he thought the testimony was consistent. We also note that the fourth allegedly improper impeachment was not completed because of an objection by defendant at a side-bar conference. Further, defendant had an opportunity to argue the consistency of the statements which the government attempted to impeach on redirect examination. Along with these safeguards to a fair trial, we find that the trial court properly instructed the jury regarding the determination of defendant's credibility. 15 Moreover, we find substantial evidence, as outlined above, for the jury to convict defendant. Therefore, we do not find any plain error requiring reversal due to the government's attempts to impeach defendant. 39