Problem
A. What are the best ways to impeach a witness, and how or what evidence would you use to impeach that witness. Give examples.
B. Consider that on direct examination your witness had been impeached by a showing of bias, how and when can you rehabilitate your witness? Impeachment is one of the most powerful tools in a lawyer's practice! No matter how well a witness recounts a story or how strong a witness may be on direct examination if they are effectively impeached during cross-examination their credibility may be damaged, sometimes beyond repair.
Suppose your witness, Sally, actually saw an accident take place and testifies that she saw the defendant run the red light and collide with the plaintiff's vehicle. Sounds good for your side, right? But on cross-examination, the defendant's attorney asks Sally whether or not she knows the plaintiff and Sally responds that yes, as a matter of fact, the plaintiff is one of her best friends. To make matters worse, upon further examination, the jury finds out that Sally has been friends with the plaintiff for over 10 years and that they are practically neighbors. Is Sally's credibility damaged, why? Has Sally been effectively impeached? How would you "rehabilitate" her testimony in this circumstance? (Interesting, perhaps you are thinking that these facts should have been uncovered during witness preparation so as her attorney or paralegal preparing the case you could have anticipated and gotten ahead of such a fact before opposing counsel. Surprising how many times litigators are caught unprepared by an effective cross-examination.)