Courts Commons^™

Prior Inconsistent Statements: Presently Inconsistent Doctrine, Mark Reutlinger

Faculty Articles

The common law has come a long way since Sir Walter Raleigh was convicted of treason on the basis of accusations contained in unproduced letters and the hearsay declarations of unproduced witnesses. However, despite the painstaking development and innumerable formulations and reformulations of the hearsay rule over the past several centuries, there are areas of that body of law which are as yet unsettled and the subject of heated controversy. One such area is that of prior inconsistent statements of witnesses, the controversy over which has continued over the years and has surfaced once again with promulgation of the new …