State v. Greenlee

WELLS, Judge.

Defendant brings forward three assignments of error: (1) the state was permitted to improperly impeach its own witness by a prior inconsistent statement; (2) the state was permitted to improperly introduce the prior inconsistent statement into evidence; and (3) the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motions for ap*271propriate relief. We agree that the state improperly impeached its own witness and order a new trial.

At the time of defendant’s trial, the general rule in criminal trials was that the state may not impeach its own witness by prior inconsistent statements or any…