Ruff v. State

Appellant, Alan Ruff, appeals his conviction for first-degree murder of Traci Cooper. He raises multiple issues, but we find one dispositive. He claims that the trial court permitted the state to call his ex-wife solely to impeach her with prior inconsistent statements which incriminated Ruff. We agree that the primary purpose of calling the ex-wife was for impeachment purposes. Because her testimony was highly prejudicial to Ruff, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

The state charged Ruff with first-degree premeditated murder of his ex-girlfriend Traci Cooper. The case proceeded to trial…