State v. McDonald

BRANCH, Chief Justice.

Defendant’s first, second, third and seventh assignments of error will be considered together as each involves the same issue of law, that is, whether the trial court erred in permitting the State to impeach its witness Daniel Benton by his prior inconsistent statements. Specifically, defendant contends the trial judge’s finding that the State was “surprised” by the change in Benton’s testimony at trial is unsupported by the evidence.

The general rule of law applicable to this case is that the State may not impeach its own witness through the use of prior inconsistent…