When cops testify do they get questioned about their past behaviors???

Question

Lets say a cop is testifying against someone he arrested in a d.u.i trial, but it just so happens that he has a past d.u.i. himself will he get questioned about it in court?

i ask because it would make the cop look not to credible.

Answer 1

Copgirl has it.  he would not be a Police Officer

Answer 2

No, he/she would of never been hired.

I had a friend who was in the process of becoming an officer, but one night she drank and drove, then bam, caught and everything was lost.

Answer 3

Actually, no.  You couldn't ask about that unless you established some relevance either to the charge or a person's credibility, and having a past DUI won't necesarrily make him look non-credible.  The vast bulk of criminal prosecutions involve witnesses with their own criminal pasts.  

If juries were given indiscriminate access to the criminal records of witnesses (and juries are charged with accepting police officers as no more or less credible than civilian witnesses) then they'd be free to acquit based on the fact of a criminal history without considering the evidence of case establishing (or failing to establish) guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  

Because of that, the law is very particular about what crimes in a person's past can be used against him.  Theft, contempt, perjury - crimes that bear on honesty are usually allowed since they are traditionally considered bearing on a person's motive to lie.  DWI would easily fall outside that category.  Also, you would have to show how the fact of that conviction creates reasonable doubt in the new case.  if the evidence independent of the officer's testimony is overwhelming, then it's hard to use the officer's prior conviction (was it a conviction) as a reason for the arrest.

In managing a criminal trial, judges have authority to block evidence that is irrelevant and may confuse the jury as to (among other things) who's on trial.

Answer 4

99% of police agencies will not hire anyone with DWI/DUI and most states will not license a person as a peace officer who has such a conviction.

However, the answer to your question would be no.

The officer is a witness to the offense, not a participant. His past behavior has nothing to do with the offense on trial.

Answer 5

1. He wouldn't remain on the police force if he got a DUI while being a police officer.  Or he'd be suspended pending the outcome of the case.  Something along those lines.

2. If the DUI happened long before he ever became one, then that probably won't be held against him.

Answer 6

To answer your broader question, yes police officers can be asked about their personal/past behaviors. Defense attorneys love to try and rile the officers on the stand.

And there are Departments that allow officers with past DUI's to work there, it all depends on the POST standards and the department's insurance.

Answer 7

Absolutely not.  The basic standard of whether evidence is admissible or not is "relevance".  A police officer's prior DUI has no relevance to the case at hand.  Whether or not he is a hypocrite is not at issue.  

However, a witness in most states could be impeached for credibility if they had been convicted of a "crime of dishonesty" (fraud, theft, bad checks, etc...).  These crimes are relevant to show the witnesse's (police or not) lack of credibility.  DUI is not among them.  

Answer 8

He wouldn't be a police officer if he had a DUI.