Any person who has been convicted of a crime is, notwithstanding, a competent witness; however, any prior criminal convictions may be proved to affect his credibility in a civil or criminal case and, further, any prior pleas of guilty, pleas of nolo contendere, and findings of guilty may be proved to affect his credibility in a criminal case. Such proof may be either by the record or by his own cross-examination, upon which he must answer any question relevant to that inquiry, and the party cross-examining shall not be concluded by his answer.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 491.050
Convicts competent witnesses — convictions and certain pleas may be proved..
Known as the Child Victim Witness Protection Law
The act spans §§ 491–491 (67 sections).
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case 604 F. App'x 387 - Stephanie Olson v. Jeff Little (2015)
Most recently applied in Woods v. Norman (June 2016)
Effective: 28 Aug 1981; (RSMo 1939 § 1916, A.L. 1981 H.B. 554); Prior revisions: 1929 § 1752; 1919 § 5439; 1909 § 6383
Official source: Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Missouri statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.