Rule 607 Who May Impeach

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

The credibility of a witness may be attacked by any party, including the party calling the witness.

Comment

The traditional rule that only an adverse party may impeach a witness is abolished by adoption of this rule.[1] Not only may a party impeach its own witness,[2] but the party may impeach the witness on direct examination to prevent the other party from exploiting impeachment on cross-examination.[3]

This rule specifies who may impeach a witness, but it does not identify what evidence is admissible for impeachment purposes. Rules 404, 405, 608, 609, 612, 613, and 801(d) provide for certain specific methods of impeachment and rehabilitation, but they do not specify what evidence is admissible for impeachment and rehabilitation in general. This is instead governed by Rule 401 defining relevant evidence, Rule 402 providing that irrelevant evidence is inadmissible, and Rule 403, which allows the trial court to exclude relevant evidence if unfairly prejudicial, cumulative, or...