Impeachment by prior conviction is a legal process by which a person's credibility as a witness can be challenged or undermined in a criminal or civil trial. It is based on the premise that if a person has been convicted of a crime, their credibility as a witness can be challenged in court. Impeachment by prior conviction can be divided into two types: direct and collateral. Direct impeachment involves entering evidence of the prior conviction in order to directly challenge the witness's credibility, while collateral impeachment involves introducing evidence of the prior conviction in order to suggest the witness is not credible. In both cases, the prior conviction is used to suggest that the witness is not trustworthy and should not be believed.
Impeachment by prior conviction is a legal process by which a person's credibility as a witness can be challenged or undermined in a criminal or civil trial. It is based on the premise that if a person has been convicted of a crime, their credibility as a witness can be challenged in court. Impeachment by prior conviction can be divided into two types: direct and collateral. Direct impeachment involves entering evidence of the prior conviction in order to directly challenge the witness's credibility, while collateral impeachment involves introducing evidence of the prior conviction in order to suggest the witness is not credible. In both cases, the prior conviction is used to suggest that the witness is not trustworthy and should not be believed.