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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 706 Filed 07/12/22 Page3of12
exception to Rule 608(b),” United States v. Ramirez, 609 F.3d 495, 499 (2d Cir. 2010) (internal
quotation marks omitted), it is permitted in only narrow circumstances. As an initial matter,
impeachment by contradiction is only available when a witness “in his direct testimony falsely
states a specific fact.” United States v. Garcia, 900 F.2d 571, 575 (2d Cir. 1990) (emphasis added);
see also Ramirez, 609 F.3d at 500 n.1 (explaining the Court’s “reluctan[ce] to extend” the
impeachment-by-contradiction doctrine to the situation where the testimony to be contradicted is
first elicited on cross-examination); United States v. Benedetto, 571 F.2d 1246, 1250 (2d Cir. 1978)
(impeachment by contradiction available after a witness testifies to a “specific fact on direct
testimony” (emphasis added)); Wright & Miller, Fed. Prac. & Procedure § 6119 (explaining that
“if the cross-examiner is able to open the door for himself on cross, this would undermine the
exclusionary rules avoided, such as Rule 608(b)”). Accordingly, if a party elicits a statement on
cross-examination that did not come out on direct examination, the party is bound by the answer
and may not offer extrinsic evidence to contradict it. See United States v. Crowley, 318 F.3d 401,
416 (2d Cir. 2003) (explaining that defense counsel could inquire on cross about alleged false
accusations by a victim whose credibility was “obviously a critical issue at trial,” but could not
offer extrinsic evidence to refute denials); Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein’s
Federal Evidence § 608.22[1] (2d ed. 1997) (noting that, under Rule 608(b), if a witness denies
having engaged in alleged untruthful conduct on cross-examination, “the examiner must take (or
is bound by) the witness’s answer’). Impeachment by contradiction, like other bases of
impeachment, is not available “on a collateral issue.” United States v. Watts, No. 10 Cr. 627
(KAM), 2013 WL 5423748, at *28 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2013) (internal quotations omitted).
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| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00011255.jpg |
| File Size | 714.5 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.0% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,084 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 18:06:18.909436 |