Scott v. Commonwealth

Opinion

BARROW, J.

In this appeal of a jury conviction for second degree murder, we hold that one may not attempt to impeach a witness by asking about the witness’s alleged misconduct without having a reasonable belief that the allegations of misconduct are true. Therefore, the trial court erred in permitting the prosecutor to ask a defense witness if he had threatened the Commonwealth’s witness without determining whether the question was based on a reasonable belief that the witness had made such threats.

While cross-examining a defense witness, the prosecutor asked the witness if he and…