Rule 613: Witness's Prior Statement

Rule 613 governs impeachment with prior inconsistent statements — one of the most common and powerful impeachment techniques. If a witness says something at trial that contradicts what they said before, the prior statement can be used to undermine their credibility.

The rule relaxes the old Queen Caroline's Rule, which required a cross-examiner to show the witness their prior written statement before asking about it. Under Rule 613(a), the examiner no longer needs to show the statement to the witness first. This allows for more effective cross-examination by preventing the witness from tailoring their explanation. However, if opposing counsel requests to see the statement, it must be disclosed.

Rule 613(b) addresses extrinsic evidence — proving the prior inconsistent statement through other witnesses or documents rather than through the witness's own testimony. Extrinsic evidence of the prior statement is admissible, but only if the witness gets an opportunity to explain or deny the statement and the opposing party gets a chance to examine the witness about it. This foundation requirement need not come before the extrinsic proof; it can occur at any point during the trial. This is a key difference from Rule 608(b), which prohibits extrinsic evidence entirely for specific acts of dishonesty.