People v. Fitzpatrick

The main question before us on this appeal is whether the prosecution in a criminal case may impeach its own witness by the use of his prior Grand Jury testimony when the witness, at trial, merely denies .any recollection of the events in question.

Defendant Frank Fitzpatrick was charged with the commission of perjury before a Grand Jury. An official of the steamfitters union, he was accused of accepting kickbacks from employers in the guise of salary checks made payable to nonemployees designated by him. Before the Grand Jury, Fitzpatrick had specifically denied ever having had in his…