Court Opinion

ID: 9470253
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:00:32.523821+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:48.157841
License: Public Domain

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
The analytic structure of our opinion to affirm has stress marks at critical parts, but this necessarily is so from the unfortunate rule we adopted in United States v. Cook, 608 F.2d 1175, 1176 (9th Cir. 1979) (en banc). Given the holding of Cook that an impeachment ruling is reviewable where the testimony under attack has not in fact been given, we are required to speculate on the question of prejudicial error. In this confusing state of affairs, I agree with the conclusions of Judge Wallace and concur in his opinion.
It seems appropriate to add, however, that the instant case confirms my earlier view that a trial court’s ruling on the admissibility of prior convictions should not be reviewable unless the defendant has taken the stand. Id. at 1188 (Kennedy, J., dissenting and concurring).