## Facts

- Mose Jefferson was indicted in federal court on RICO conspiracy and related public-corruption charges.
- Before trial, the United States sought a ruling allowing it to use Jefferson’s prior federal convictions for bribery and obstruction of justice only to impeach him if he testified.
- The obstruction conviction involved conduct alleging Jefferson knowingly and corruptly attempted to persuade another person to lie to federal law-enforcement authorities.
- The district court granted Jefferson’s motion to exclude the prior convictions, concluding they were inadmissible for impeachment under Federal Rule of Evidence 609 and/or that any probative value was substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice under Rule 403.
- The government filed an interlocutory appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3731 challenging the pretrial exclusion order.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court erred by excluding Jefferson’s prior bribery and obstruction-of-justice convictions offered solely to impeach his credibility if he testified.
2. Whether the obstruction conviction qualified as a crime involving a dishonest act or false statement requiring admission for impeachment under Federal Rule of Evidence 609(a)(2).
3. To the extent Rule 403 balancing applied, whether the danger of unfair prejudice substantially outweighed the convictions’ probative value on credibility.

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s pretrial order excluding the prior convictions and remanded.
- The court held the district court erred in preventing the government from using the convictions to impeach Jefferson if he chose to testify.
- The court concluded the convictions were highly probative of credibility, particularly where the obstruction offense involved attempts to induce false statements to federal authorities.

## Legal Principles

- Under Federal Rule of Evidence 609(a)(2), a conviction must be admitted for impeachment if proving the offense required proof (or an admission) of a dishonest act or false statement.
- Obstruction-of-justice conduct based on corruptly attempting to persuade a person to lie to federal law enforcement bears directly on truthfulness and supports impeachment under Rule 609(a)(2).
- For convictions not governed by Rule 609(a)(2), admissibility for impeachment is subject to Rule 403; exclusion is improper if the court substantially overstates unfair prejudice relative to credibility value, particularly when limiting instructions can confine the jury’s use of the evidence.
- A testifying defendant’s credibility may be attacked through admissible prior convictions; a trial court may not effectively insulate the defendant from impeachment where credibility is material.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit held that Jefferson’s prior bribery and obstruction-of-justice convictions could be used to impeach him if he testified, reversed the district court’s exclusion order, and remanded for further proceedings.


United States v. Jefferson, 623 F.3d 227 (5th Cir. 2010)