State v. Dowell

Defendant was convicted of robbery in the first degree in Medford. In appealing to the Court of Appeals he contended that the trial court erred in excluding testimony by the victim of the robbery, Pamela Chestine, and defendant’s girl friend, Mary McDowell, that Mrs. Chestine had been paid $100 upon her agreement not to testify against defendant. That evidence was offered by defendant to impeach the credibility of Mrs. Chestine, the state’s witness.

The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction by an opinion which rejected the state’s contention that such evidence was not admissible to impeach…