Impeachment of Witnesses Because of Inconsistent Statements (Defendant with No Felony Conviction Testifies) is a legal process in which a witness's credibility is challenged based on their changing or inconsistent statements. This type of impeachment is typically used when the defendant has no felony conviction and testifies in court. The purpose of this type of impeachment is to demonstrate to the court that the witness cannot be trusted and thus their testimony should not be relied upon. There are two main types of Impeachment of Witnesses Because of Inconsistent Statements (Defendant with No Felony Conviction Testifies): direct and indirect. Direct impeachment occurs when the witness’s inconsistent statements are created by a contradiction between what they said in court and what they said outside of court. Indirect impeachment occurs when the witness’s inconsistent statements are created by a contradiction between what they said in court and what they said on other occasions. In both cases, the attorney must present evidence to the court that demonstrates the inconsistency and provides an argument as to why the witness should not be trusted. The court will then determine whether the witness will be impeached.
Impeachment of Witnesses Because of Inconsistent Statements (Defendant with No Felony Conviction Testifies)
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FAQ
Under Federal Rule 801(d)(1)(A), prior inconsistent statements may be used for impeachment purposes, as well as substantive evidence, as long as the requirements of the rule have been satisfied: the statement was inconsistent with declarant's testimony and the statement was given under oath.
Repeat. First, the most basic step, is to have the witness repeat the testimony from today's hearing that you want to impeach. You cannot effectively impeach unless the witness repeats a fact they said during the current hearing that clearly contradicts a prior statement.
In federal court, Federal Rules of Evidence 607 provides that any party may attack the credibility of a witness by introducing evidence that reflects on the witness's character for truthfulness, prior inconsistent statements, bias, interest, or other reasons.
613(b) in that extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement is not admissible unless the statement is shown or disclosed to the witness during the witness's examination. Paragraph (b) is intended to give the witness and the party a fair opportunity to explain or deny the allegation.
Rule 613(b) allows a party to use a prior inconsistent statement to impeach a witness, but if the witness is called to the stand for sole purpose of impeaching him, the ?impeachment? is really a subterfuge for admitting the hearsay.
If the statement is not clearly inconsistent, the attempted impeachment may not work. The witness may fight you, the jury won't get it, or both. The prior statement not only needs to be inconsistent; it needs to be clear. A cumbersome or sloppy question, or a purposely vague answer, may make impeachment difficult.