Section 16.13 Inconsistency Requirement

• Library: Evidence 2017

4. (§16.13) Inconsistency Requirement

How inconsistent must the statement be to be admissible? The cases speak of a “real inconsistency,” St. Louis Sw. Ry. Co. v. Fed. Compress & Warehouse Co., 803 S.W.2d 40, 43 (Mo. App. E.D. 1990), but the standard of inconsistency is low. Any “material variance” between the trial testimony and the prior statement will suffice, even if it “only bend[s] in a different direction.” Aliff v. Cody, 26 S.W.3d 309, 319. (Mo. App. W.D. 2000). Whether a statement qualifies under this fairly loose standard should be determined by considering its effect as a whole. Id. If...