In a capital murder case, I want to question the jurors during voir dire about my client’s four prior robbery convictions. I am doing so because I wish to let the jury know everything, strip the jury down, so I can get a true sense of who will oppose death and who will oppose life. My client is not testifying, so normally his prior robbery convictions would not be admissible. Can I do so?
This is a very difficult issue. Any person who tries criminal cases on a regular basis knows that unless the defendant testifies, normally his or her prior record for crimen falsi cannot be introduced against the defendant. There are exceptions to that under theories such as common plan scheme and design, etc. But for the sake of this question, let’s assume those exceptions are not applicable.
