Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Stanaway Motion

As quoted in People v. Mitchell:

Stanaway provides an exception to the general rule that prior inconsistent statements may be used to impeach even if they directly inculpate the defendant, the exception is a "very narrow" one. Id. at 682-683.

[39] The rule set forth in People v Stanaway is that the impeachment should be disallowed when (1) the substance of the statement purportedly used to impeach the credibility of the witness is relevant to the central issue of the case, and (2) there is no other testimony from the witness for which his credibility was relevant to the case."