Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

impeachement

If the main witness (the victim), gets impeached, does their statement and depo get impeached as well?


Asked on 12/09/08, 8:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Kelly Papa Law Office of Kelly Papa

Re: impeachement

It doesn't really work like that. When one gets impeached, what that usually means, is that your attorney can show where that person has said something different in the past, or was able to show through other evidence that the victim was lying. Impeaching doesn't throw out the other information, just allows your attorney to argue that the victim is not telling the truth, and is unreliable. The jury instructions tell the jury that the jury may believe, "all, part or none of the witnesses testimony". The instructions also tell the jury that one of the things they should consider when weighing the testimony of a witness is if they've given different statements or if their statement was contradicted by other evidence in the case.

If you are not at the trial stage of the case, your attorney may be able to argue to the prosecutor that the victim is not a reliable witness and that should bear on them proceeding with charges.

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Answered on 12/09/08, 8:52 pm


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