State v. Byrd

Gregory, Justice.

This court granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals in Byrd v. State, 176 Ga. App. 295 (335 SE2d 656) (1985), to consider the rule announced there that limiting instructions must be given by the trial court, even without request, as to impeachment evidence tending to disprove facts testified to by a defendant in a criminal case which happens also to be character evidence. We reverse.

In a related context we note there are opinions which allow use of a prior inconsistent statement of a criminal defendant for the limited purpose of impeaching trial testimony of the defendant…