Procedure 2. Impeachment

On cross - examination, an attorney wants to show that the witness should not be believed. This is best accomplished through a process called "impeachment", which may use one of the following tactics: (1) asking questions about prior conduct of the witness that makes the witness’ truthfulness doubtful (e.g., "Isn’t it true that you once lost a job because you falsified expense reports?"); (2) asking about evidence of certain types of criminal convictions (e.g., "You were convicted of shoplifting, weren’t you?"); or (3) showing that the witness has contradicted a prior statement, particularly one made by the witness in an affidavit. Witness statements in the Mock Trials Materials are considered to be affidavits.

In order to impeach the witness by comparing information in the affidavit to the witness’ testimony, attorneys should use this procedure:

Step 1. Repeat the statement the witness made on direct or cross - examination that contradicts the affidavit.

Example: "Now, Mrs. Burke, on direct examination you were out of town on the night in question, didn’t you?" (Witness responds, "Yes.")

Step 2. Introduce the affidavit for identification, using the procedure described in Procedure 1.

Step 3. Ask the witness to read from his or her affidavit the part that contradicts the statement made on direct examination.

Example: "All right, Mrs. Burke, will you read paragraph three?" (Witness reads, "Harry and I decide to stay in town and go to the theatre.")

Step 4. Dramatize the conflict in the statements. (Remember, the point of this line of questioning is to demonstrate the contradiction in the statements, not to determine whether Mrs. Burke was in town or out of town.)

Example: "So, Mrs. Burke, you testified that you were out of town on the night in question, didn’t you? " "Yes." "Yet, in your affidavit you said you were in town, didn’t you?" "Yes."