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Eric Magnuson, co-chair of Nutter’s Business Litigation practice group, analyzed a ruling in which the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the defendant in a securities fraud case should have been permitted to impeach the credibility of the plaintiff through cross-examination in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. In the article, “Verdict in securities fraud case vacated over evidentiary ruling,” Eric pointed out that the ruling underscores that there is nothing inherently off-limits about cross-examining a witness about extrinsic conduct that is probative of their character for untruthfulness. He added that the examining lawyer “must avoid the Charybdis of inquiry that’s too collateral under Rule 608(b) and the Scylla of inquiry that’s unfairly prejudicial under Rule 608(b) or Rule 403.”