State v. Cope

EXUM, Justice.

Defendant argues in his appeal that the trial court committed reversible error in permitting the state to impeach its own witness, in sustaining the state’s objections to questions asked of a character witness for defendant, in failing to submit voluntary manslaughter as a possible verdict, and in omitting the proximate cause element from his instructions on involuntary manslaughter. We conclude defendant is entitled to a new trial on the ground the trial court erred in allowing the state to impeach its own witness.

The state’s evidence at trial tended to show the following:

Betwee…