Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois
Witnesses for the State
Can a person with a grudge against another be a credible eye witness against that person for the State?
Asked on 1/24/01, 1:16 am
1 Answer from Attorneys
David Shestokas
Shestokas, & Associates
Re: Witnesses for the State
Such a person can be used by the state in the presentation of its case. It would be incumbent upon the defense to call a witness to indicate that the person with the grudge has one. Ideally, it would be best to question the person holding the grudge about that matter and attempt to elicit an admission that for some reason there is a negative bias against the defendant. That would seriously undermine the credibility of the state's witness.
Answered on 3/07/01, 6:17 pm