What is the Military Rules of Evidence (MRE) 407?

Military Rules of Evidence (MRE) 407 is a rule in the Military Rules of Evidence (MRE) that applies to court-martials in the state of New York. MRE 407 states that evidence of specific instances of a witness’s conduct is not admissible to attack or support the witness’s character for truthfulness, unless those instances specifically involved dishonesty or false statement. The goal of this rule is to provide protections to witnesses who are unfamiliar with the court process, or who may have a hard time recognizing the implications and consequences of testifying against another party. It gives the court-martial more discretion to disallow evidence that would otherwise be admissible. When using MRE 407, the court evaluates whether the evidence is too prejudicial or inflammatory for the proceedings. The threshold for allowing it is fairly high and so it’s rarely allowed. As long as the evidence does not involve dishonesty or false statements, and is not too prejudicial, the court typically allows it, as it can be used to bolster the credibility of the witness. In New York, the Military Rules of Evidence (MRE) 407 plays an important role in court-martials. It provides protection to witnesses in order to ensure fairness and accuracy in the proceedings by not allowing evidence that could be deemed too prejudicial or inflammatory. It also helps to ensure that the testimony of witnesses is accurate and truthful by not allowing instances of conduct that do not directly involve dishonesty or false statements.

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What is the Military Rules of Evidence (MRE) 407?

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