State v. Terrebonne

The majority ruling that the credibility of a witness, who testified before the grand jury and gave a statement inconsistent with the testimony given by her at the trial, may not be impeached by her prior inconsistent statement constitutes, in my opinion, a backward step in the administration of justice. It is unsound, and I find no support for the ruling in the Code of Criminal Procedure or the jurisprudence here 1 and little elsewhere.2

To begin with, the impeachment of the witness in the instant case by her prior inconsistent statement before the grand jury is authorized by R.S. 15:493…