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Ask the Law Guy

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Lets say I answer questions for a police officer, and that officer takes what I say and puts it in a police report. If I am later called at trial as a witness in regards to the same transaction for which I spoke to the police officer, can my statements in the police report be used to impeach my testimony on the stand or any subsequent statements I made to police?

Wouldn't that be hearsay?

What about if the police officer takes the stand? Can he then reveal what I said to him in the initial questioning? Does the fact that I am available to be called as a witness and cross-examined have any bearing on the hearsay analysis?

If you were the defendant in a criminal case, your statement to police would be admissible. If you were a witness any prior inconsistent statement you made to anyone could be used for impeachment (to attack your credibility as a witness). The out-of-court statements are not admitted as substantive evidence.

For example suppose you told a police officer that you saw Harold steal a car. At Harold's trial the state calls you as a witness and you testify that you did not Harold steal the car. The state could introduce your prior statement to show that you are not believable but the out-of-court statement is not allowed as evidence that Harold actually stole the car. In practical terms this is meaningless to Harold, because once a juror has heard evidence it is impossible to ignore it. However if your out-of-court statement was the only evidence against Harold, then he could not be convicted.

If you do not testify, your statements to the officer are probably not admissible.

Important fine print

The owner/operator of this website is Bryan Gates, an attorney in Winston-Salem, N.C. E-mailing a question to a website (even a cleverly designed website) is no substitute for live, in-person contact with an attorney if you have a legal problem. In order to avoid legal troubles of my own, I cannot answer questions about the laws of states other than North Carolina. For more information about The Law Guy, check out:

www.attorneygates.com

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