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Evidence Keyed to Park
United States v. Abel
Citation:
469 U.S. 45 (1984)Facts
Respondent John Abel and two cohorts were indicted for robbing a savings and loan in Bellflower, Ca. The cohorts elected to plead guilty, but respondent went to trial. One of the cohorts, Kurt Ehle, agreed to testify against respondent and identify him as a participant in the robbery. Respondent informed the district court that he would seek to counter Ehle’s testimony with that of Robert Mills, who was not a participant in the robbery but was friendly with respondent and Ehle. Defense counsel objected to Ehle’s proffered rebuttal testimony as too prejudicial to respondent. Ehle testified that respondent, Mills, and he were indeed members of a secret prison organization whose tenets required its members to deny its existence and lie, cheat, steal and kill to protect each other. The district court sustained a defense objection to a question concerning the punishment for violating the organization’s rules.
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