Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An official document or judicial order issued by a court or authorized agency upon an express finding that a convicted person has been rehabilitated. The determination restores at least some civil rights and renders the underlying conviction inadmissible for impeachment when the person has not incurred a later crime punishable by death or imprisonment exceeding one year.
Cynthia Cortez testified as a fact witness in a contract dispute. Fifteen years earlier she had been convicted of felony embezzlement. After completing probation and demonstrating steady employment, a state court issued her a certificate of rehabilitation that expressly found she had reformed and restored her civil rights. She incurred no later felony. The opposing party sought to introduce the embezzlement conviction to attack her credibility. The court excluded the conviction because the certificate satisfied the rehabilitation finding and no disqualifying subsequent offense existed.
Pardoned Conviction Remains Available After Later Felony
Caitlin Crowley testified for the defense in a negligence trial. Eight years earlier she received a governor's pardon after a clemency board found she had been rehabilitated following a felony theft conviction. Two years after the pardon she was convicted of another felony carrying a maximum sentence of eighteen months. The plaintiff offered the original theft conviction for impeachment. The court admitted the evidence because the later felony conviction removed the protection that would otherwise have attached to the pardon.
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Practice Questions4
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Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Federal Rules
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Dictionaries
Wilson v. Attaway757 F.2d 1227, 1244-1246 (11th Cir. 1985)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
What two conditions must be satisfied for a certificate of rehabilitation to bar impeachment use of a prior conviction?+
The conviction must have been the subject of a pardon, annulment, certificate of rehabilitation, or equivalent procedure based on an express finding of rehabilitation. The person must also have avoided any later conviction punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year.
Supporting sources
Does a minor regulatory violation after the certificate revives the conviction for impeachment?+
No. Only a later crime punishable by death or imprisonment exceeding one year lifts the bar. A regulatory infraction carrying only a fine does not meet that threshold and leaves the certificate's protection intact.
Supporting sources
Must the rehabilitation procedure use the exact statutory phrase 'certificate of rehabilitation'?+
No. Any equivalent judicial procedure that includes an express finding of rehabilitation qualifies, such as a vacatur order or annulment that rests on rehabilitation grounds and meets the statutory criteria.
Supporting sources
EvidenceImpeachment, contradiction, and rehabilitation · Character for truthfulness or untruthfulnessNEXTGENFoundational