Philadelphia, PA 19122 You probably should refrain from the “were you lying then or are you lying now” question, at least for a while. If the witness is a person other than the defendant, the evidence of the prior felony conviction for a crime not involving dishonesty or false statement is admissible unless the party objecting to the evidence succeeds in the more difficult task of proving that the probative value of the felony conviction is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the defendant. Some people may answer that they would rather kill the witness’s credibility overall, but I believe that you only want to impeach a witness if their statement at trial is harmful to you. Most US jurisdictions require a cross-examiner to lay a foundation before extrinsic evidence can be used to demonstrate bias for impeachment purposes. IMPEACH A WITNESS: HARD BUT FAIR. What follows are some suggestions that are unorthodox, but may help you in achieving your ultimate goal, which is to influence the jury. Required fields are marked *, 10900 Research Blvd #160C-4Austin, TX 78759, Copyright Ⓒ 2017 AgileLaw, LLC |Privacy Policy|Site Map. 1719 North Broad Street A: That’s what I said, but I know the car was blue. The answer should be obvious, but sometimes I think lawyers get so caught up in the technique of impeachment that they forget their primary goal. In limited circumstances, proof of a person’s immigration status can be admissible. But if you want to turbocharge your impeachment and make it stick with the jury, then you have to take some risks.

impeach a witness's omission, uncertainty or lack of memory, because those are not inconsistencies. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Produce a statement the witness gave under oath — such as in an affidavit, a deposition, or even testimony at another trial — that contradicts his statement at your trial.

In such circumstances, the rulings may constitute a violation of due process when viewed under the totality of the circumstances. Lawyers often forget that most juries have no trial experience and they have short attention spans. 1 §28(f)(4), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Witness_impeachment&oldid=939165817, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from February 2010, All articles needing additional references, Articles that may contain original research from March 2015, All articles that may contain original research, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. [2], A party may impeach a witness in the US by introducing evidence of any of the following (remembered via the mnemonic BICCC), Courts permit parties to cross-examine a witness in order to impeach that witness based on demonstration of bias. Why would a party wish to do such a thing? NY Impeachment Method 60.35 - Must be a signed written statement or sworn oral testimony - Hearsay statements not allowed - No extrinsic evidence (other than signed statements or transcripts of sworn testimony) PRONG 2: Material Issue PRONG 2: Material Issue New York Rules of Contradiction involves the witness saying two different things in the same testimony. It’s meant to point out that there’s no “rule” here and that you have to judge the testimony and its effect on the fact finder. Wynn simply didn’t have the accumulation of evidentiary rulings that created such an unfair trial. The opponent might also challenge the essential credibility of the witness that is, the chances that the witness is likely to be telling the truth, aside from what those facts may be. If the witness were one that the party was required by law to call as a witness. Finally, if a conviction is more than 10 years old, the probative value of admitting the conviction must substantially outweigh the danger of unfair prejudice under FRE 609(b)[9], A party may impeach a witness for character by cross-examining the witness but not by introducing extrinsic evidence, about specific instances of prior misconduct, often called "prior bad acts," as long as the questions relate to the witness's own character for truthfulness (or untruthfulness) or to the character for untruthfulness of a previous witness that the current witness has testified about before.[10]. ( Log Out /  On the other hand, the government’s interest in excluding this evidence— asserted fears of jury nullification—are relatively minimal. This line of questioning has become somewhat argumentative, but at this point the witness is in a really bad spot because it will be difficult to give a plausible explanation for the inconsistency. Under the US Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 607 permits any party to attack the credibility of any witness.[1].

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