United States v. Mitchell
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
113 F.3d 1528 (1997)
- Written by Kyli Cotten, JD
Facts
Thomas Mitchell (defendant) was charged in federal court with bank robbery by intimidation. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) called the bank teller, Ms. Muller, to testify about the alleged robbery. On cross-examination, the defense counsel questioned Muller about the reliability of her memory. When Muller denied having any memory issues, the defense sought to introduce a psychological-counseling record that contained statements from Muller that she was having trouble remembering the robbery. The trial court did not allow the statement into evidence, citing potential privilege issues. Out of the presence of the jury, the trial court determined that the record was not privileged, and the defense proceeded to attempt to continue impeachment. When again confronted with the prior inconsistent statement, Muller this time claimed she did not recall making the statement rather than denying it. The trial court would not allow the statement to be admitted, stating that not remembering making the statement does not constitute a denial, which would allow extrinsic evidence of a prior inconsistent statement. Mitchell was convicted and appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tacha, J.)
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