Military Lawyer Criminal Defense Attorney MRE 613

Military Lawyer Criminal Defense Attorney MRE 613

Prior statements of witnesses

In examining the witness concerning a prior statement made by the witness, whether written or not, the statement may not be shown nor its contents disclosed to him at that time, but upon request the same must be shown or disclosed to opposing counsel.

Extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement by the witness is not admissible except if the witness is afforded an opportunity to explain or deny the same and the opposite party is provided an opportunity to question the witness thereon, or the interests of justice otherwise require. This provision will not apply to admissions of a party-opponent as set out in MRE 801(d)(2).

A witness can be impeached with competent evidence to show that he or she made a prior statement, oral or written, inconsistent with the in-court testimony. The evidence may be:
Intrinsic: controlled by 613(a), involving interrogation of the witness about the earlier statement, or
Extrinsic: controlled by 613(b), involving extrinsic proof (testimony or documents) of the previous inconsistent statement.

Impeachment, however, is not the only possible use of a prior inconsistent statement.

Court Martial Lawyer Michael Waddington represents Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps servicemembers facing UCMJ actions.