United States v. Owens

Owens (defendant) was charged with murdering his third wife and testified in his own defense; on cross-examination, the prosecution asked him about three prior incidents he had omitted from his Army warrant officer application — a marijuana-possession conviction, an unlawful gun-possession conviction, and an assault-and-battery arrest involving his second wife. The military appellate court allowed this questioning, and Owens was convicted and appealed.