CA1: No problem in excluding victims' prior convictions

US v. Nguyen, No. 07-1217.  Bookies.  Beatings.  The big question is whether the judge shouldn’t have excluded the “victims” prior convictions under FRE 609.  The District Court, for its part let the defendant’s convictions in, however.  The defendant then tried “blunt” the effect of these convictions by bringing them out on direct.  The First says that the victims’ conviction is old, and this isn’t a “he said, she said” case.  EvidenceProfBlog has extenive comments here.