Factual disputes in civil cases often rely on the credibility of each party’s witnesses. If a testifying plaintiff is discovered to have a past criminal conviction involving a crime of dishonesty, such as being convicted of embezzlement of funds, evidence of that crime can cast doubt on their testimony. In an effort to nullify the evidentiary value of the conviction, a plaintiff may produce a Certificate of Good Conduct. An important legal issue then emerges: Should a Certificate of Good Conduct shield a prior conviction from admission into evidence?
In an article published in Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Jonathan Federman explores the case Kozik v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, in which an Illinois appellate court held that a Certificate of Good Conduct does not prevent a prior criminal conviction from being used to impeach a witness under Illinois Rule of Evidence 609.
Read the full article in Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly.