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So, confused about 609, two questions, both connected

Question 1:
609(a)(1)(A) states that a evidence of a felony must be admitted subject to 403 in "a civil case or in a criminal case in which the witness is not a defendant." Does "in which the witness is not a defendant" modify only "a criminal case" or also "a civil case"? To put it another way, must evidence of a felony be admitted subject to 403 in all civil cases or only in civil cases where the witness is not a defendant?
To my understanding, the natural reading of it was "in a civil case , or in a criminal case in which the witness is not a defendant. but I was doing a CALI problem that seemed to indicate that that implied comma isn't there and that the mandatory admission subject to 403 applies only to civil cases where the witness is not a defendant.


Question 2:
What does Rule 609 prescribe for admitting evidence of a felony when the witness is a defendant in a civil case? Under 609(a)(1)(b), When the witness is a defendant in a criminal case, the evidence must be admitted if probative value outweighs prejudicial effect - but the rule doesn't speak about when the witness is a defendant in a civil case. This question is moot if the answer to my first question is "evidence of a felony must be admitted subject to 403 in all civil cases."

jd20132013 wrote:So, confused about 609, two questions, both connected

Question 1:
609(a)(1)(A) states that a evidence of a felony must be admitted subject to 403 in "a civil case or in a criminal case in which the witness is not a defendant." Does "in which the witness is not a defendant" modify only "a criminal case" or also "a civil case"? To put it another way, must evidence of a felony be admitted subject to 403 in all civil cases or only in civil cases where the witness is not a defendant?
To my understanding, the natural reading of it was "in a civil case , or in a criminal case in which the witness is not a defendant. but I was doing a CALI problem that seemed to indicate that that implied comma isn't there and that the mandatory admission subject to 403 applies only to civil cases where the witness is not a defendant.


Question 2:
What does Rule 609 prescribe for admitting evidence of a felony when the witness is a defendant in a civil case? Under 609(a)(1)(b), When the witness is a defendant in a criminal case, the evidence must be admitted if probative value outweighs prejudicial effect - but the rule doesn't speak about when the witness is a defendant in a civil case. This question is moot if the answer to my first question is "evidence of a felony must be admitted subject to 403 in all civil cases."

Pretty sure this question is about Green v. Boch Laundry. Read it for a class that wasn't evidence but you'll probably want to check that case out rather than struggling with the admittedly ambiguous text.

Hm. I'll look it up, but we didn't cover that case in class.