Opinion ID: 4529971
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Uncharged murders

Text: Seeking to discredit Flow at trial, the defense implied that Flow had killed five people, which he denied. At sidebar, Gómez's counsel claimed to have witnesses who could testify about - 32 - these uncharged murders. The district court ultimately struck these questions and answers based on Federal Rule of Evidence 608. On appeal, the defendants argue that involvement in murders where there has been no conviction is a proper subject of crossexamination since it is part of the benefits received by cooperating. The district court's contrary decision was not an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Thomas, 467 F.3d 49, 56 (1st Cir. 2006) (stating that evidence rules allow judge to exclude extrinsic evidence on a collateral matter, whether offered to prove character for truthfulness or some other impeachment ground, like bias or contradiction).