Admissibility of Prior Theft Convictions to Impeach Criminal Defendants in Washington State

Authors

Hossein Nowbar

Abstract

The majority of the federal circuit courts hold that prior theft convictions are not automatically admissible under Evidence Rule 609(a)(2) as crimes of dishonesty or false statement. The Washington Supreme Court departs from this conclusion and holds all theft crimes automatically admissible under ER 609(a)(2) as crimes of dishonesty or false statement. This Comment discusses the inherent problems in Washington's interpretation of the terms "dishonesty or false statement" in ER 609(a)(2) and suggests three possible solutions that may alleviate those problems.

First Page

161

Recommended Citation

Hossein Nowbar, Comment, Admissibility of Prior Theft Convictions to Impeach Criminal Defendants in Washington State, 68 Wash. L. Rev. 161 (1993).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol68/iss1/5