Section 7.49 Portion of Statement Admissible for Impeachment

• Library: Sources of Proof (2014 Ed.)

A. (§7.49) Portion of Statement Admissible for Impeachment

Usually, the party seeking to impeach a witness does not wish to read the witness’s entire statement, whereas opposing counsel may demand that the entire statement be read. That portion of the statement that tends to impeach the witness is admissible, but irrelevant and self-serving portions are not admissible. See:

· State v. Griffin, 859 S.W.2d 816 (Mo. App. W.D. 1993) (the trial court properly excluded a one-hour recording offered to impeach a witness when the recording contained irrelevant statements that were not inconsistent with the witness’s trial testimony and no edited version of the recording containing only the admissible portions was ever offered)

· Walsh v. Terminal R. Ass’n of St. Louis, 182 S.W.2d 607, 611 (Mo. banc 1944)

· Girratono v. Kansas City Pub. Serv. Co., 251 S.W.2d 59, 65–66 (Mo. 1952)

· Halsey v. Metz, 93 S.W.2d 41, 44 (Mo. App. S.D. 1936)

Furthermore, it is improper for counsel to insist in the jury’s presence that the whole statement be read. Walsh...