Impeach?

Impeach?

• A. Impeaching a witness attacks their credibility. It can be done by comparing what a witness says on the witness stand at trial to what is contained in the witness affidavit and pointing out the differences. It can also be done by showing that the witness has contradicted himself or herself, showing the witness is biased, or attacking their character.
• B. Impeachment is the removal of a witness from the stand for misbehavior.
• C. Impeachment means the witness tells the truth without question.
• D. Impeachment is only used to dismiss a witness from the case.

Answer: (A)

Impeachment is about challenging a witness’s credibility. The idea is to show that their testimony isn’t reliable, which affects how the jury should weigh what they say. This is done by pointing out inconsistencies between what the witness now says and prior statements (like an affidavit), showing contradictions, revealing bias or interest, or attacking the witness’s character for truthfulness. It doesn’t remove a witness from the stand, it doesn’t make their testimony automatically true, and it isn’t only about dismissing them. Those other notions don’t capture the role impeachment plays in testing how much weight to give a witness’s statements.

Impeachment is about challenging a witness’s credibility. The idea is to show that their testimony isn’t reliable, which affects how the jury should weigh what they say. This is done by pointing out inconsistencies between what the witness now says and prior statements (like an affidavit), showing contradictions, revealing bias or interest, or attacking the witness’s character for truthfulness. It doesn’t remove a witness from the stand, it doesn’t make their testimony automatically true, and it isn’t only about dismissing them. Those other notions don’t capture the role impeachment plays in testing how much weight to give a witness’s statements.