{"id":1963,"date":"2017-06-15T13:59:10","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T17:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.law.temple.edu\/aer\/?p=1963"},"modified":"2021-12-16T14:58:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T14:58:22","slug":"learning-mistakes-impeaching-little-can-cause-big-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2017\/06\/15\/learning-mistakes-impeaching-little-can-cause-big-harm\/","title":{"rendered":"LEARNING FROM MISTAKES: IMPEACHING ON THE \u201cLITTLE\u201d CAN CAUSE \u201cBIG\u201d HARM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why impeach a witness?\u00a0 Hopefully, with good cause.\u00a0 We impeach witnesses to weaken their credibility and\/or to advance our own stories.\u00a0 As described by Charles Rose in FUNDAMENTAL TRIAL ADVOCACY, \u201c[a] properly planned impeachment is an effective exclamation point to a strong cross-examination.\u201d<\/p>\n

But to be effective \u2013 and indeed to be warranted \u2013 another adage must be followed during witness impeachment.\u00a0 It is that of the physician\u2019s oath of primum nil nocere<\/em> \u2013 <\/strong>first, do no harm.\u00a0 The impeaching evidence must never be more damaging to your cause than the in-court testimony you now seek to contradict.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This was demonstrated vividly in a murder case where, on direct examination, the witness testified to seeing the accused go around the corner, hearing a gunshot, and then seeing the defendant come back around the corner stuffing \u201csomething\u201d into his waistband.\u00a0 Defense counsel, a haughty, self-confident fellow with a booming voice, proceeded to cross-examine as follows:<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0 On direct examination, you said you saw my client put something<\/em> in his waistband, correct?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it true that you testified at a preliminary hearing?<\/p>\n

A: Yes.<\/p>\n

Q: Isn\u2019t it true that you were under oath?<\/p>\n

A: Yes.<\/p>\n

Q: And isn\u2019t it true that when you testified then you said that you saw my client put a gun<\/em> in his waistband?<\/p>\n

A lesser \u2018sin,\u2019 but one that may prove just as catastrophic, occurs when counsel impeaches on a miniscule point and, in the buildup to the climax, repeats all of the damaging testimony heard on direct.\u00a0 This violates two precepts.\u00a0 First, only summarize the information you are about to contradict when it is damaging, or, as Pozner and Dodd have written, \u201c[o]nly extract the minimum verbiage from direct examination to set up the impeachment.\u00a0 Do not repeat the entire direct examination chapter.\u201d Pozner and Dodd, CROSS-EXAMINATION SKILLS FOR LAW STUDENTS.\u00a0 Second, make sure that the impeachment that does occur is tight and can\u2019t be explained away.<\/p>\n

The failure to adhere to these rules was vividly demonstrated in a recent murder trial. \u00a0A street-shooting was captured on a store security camera, but the face of the perpetrator was somewhat obscured by a hoodie.\u00a0 The sister of the deceased, shown the video by police, identified the murderer as the defendant, explaining that she had known him all her life and recognized his attire, walk and build.\u00a0 [Whether this is an adequate foundation for lay opinion testimony is another matter entirely.]\u00a0 But her statement to police contained what might have been a small nugget for impeachment \u2013 she told police that she thought<\/em> the first name of the man she claimed to have known all her life was \u201cKaliph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s stop there.\u00a0 Can a person know someone for life and still be uncertain of a first name? \u00a0Sure, particularly in a neighborhood where people also have street names or go by initials.\u00a0 But assume that this impeachment might have merit.\u00a0 Following Pozner and Dodd, one would summarize the witness\u2019 testimony in the most succinct fashion possible, and then \u2018surgically strike\u2019 with the contradicting statement.\u00a0 This would be exemplified as follows:<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did I hear you correctly that you said the man you believed to be my client is someone \u201cwho I have known all my life?\u201d<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please read your police interview with me.\u00a0 It says \u201cI believe his name is Kaliph.\u201d\u00a0 Did I read that correctly?<\/p>\n

A: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

In the actual case, the \u2018summarize\u2019 rule was broken, and counsel never realized that the impeaching fact itself had little or no value because of the nickname phenomenon.\u00a0 Here is how counsel destroyed his client\u2019s cause by repeating the direct ad nauseam<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s your testimony that based on the video that you can tell \u2013<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Correct<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 tell that that is my client?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The way you are able to tell that is because you\u2019ve known my client for quite some time, right?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 We all used to hang together on the block.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you know his walk?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Exactly.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you know all about how he hangs with?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you know him very well?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yep.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And it\u2019s this deep knowledge of his walk and his relationships that allows you to make this identification?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I know him personally.\u00a0 He used to hang with me and my brothers and the boys that live on Bucknell [Street] every day.<\/p>\n

It was after this extraordinarily complete repeat of the direct, a direct coming from the grieving sister of the deceased, that the witness was shown her police statement with the \u201cI believe\u201d language.\u00a0 Even if \u201cI believe\u201d is a significant contradiction, the jury did not need to be reminded of the distinctive walk and the defendant\u2019s presence on the same street on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

But the failure to weigh the value of the impeachment was shown by two facts \u2013 the witness had told police the street name of the perpetrator in her statement.\u00a0 \u201cThe male wearing the hoodie pulled up is KB.\u201d\u00a0 Not \u201cI think it is KB,\u201d but \u201cis KB.\u201d\u00a0 And defense counsel then made it worse.\u00a0 When the witness claimed that she expressed uncertainty about KB\u2019s full name because she was still emotional from her brother\u2019s murder, he again repeated the witness\u2019 familiarity with his client.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But this is someone that you\u2019ve known for 17 years, right?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s okay.\u00a0 I still wasn\u2019t \u2013 I still wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You know his walk?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yep.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You know where he lives?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Um-hmm.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You know all his friends?<\/p>\n

A:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Suffice it to say, the transcript is available because the defendant was convicted.\u00a0 The lessons are real.\u00a0 Read this, read it again, and don\u2019t ever do it.\u00a0 The method here evokes the \u201cmountain out of a molehill\u201d image, with a twist \u2013 here, trial counsel fought a molehill with a mountain of pro-prosecution evidence. Impeach when it\u2019s worth it, and without repeating all<\/em> of the damning evidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why impeach a witness?\u00a0 Hopefully, with good cause.\u00a0 We impeach witnesses to weaken their credibility and\/or to advance our own stories.\u00a0 As described by Charles Rose in FUNDAMENTAL TRIAL ADVOCACY, \u201c[a] properly planned impeachment is an effective exclamation point to a strong cross-examination.\u201d But to be effective \u2013 and indeed to be warranted \u2013 another<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,11],"tags":[],"coauthors":[238],"class_list":["post-1963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-advocacy-and-evidence-blog","category-evidence","category-trial-advocacy"],"yoast_head":"\nLEARNING FROM MISTAKES: IMPEACHING ON THE \u201cLITTLE\u201d CAN CAUSE \u201cBIG\u201d 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