Changing the Rules
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi told me this morning on Newstalk 1430 WXNT, that he wanted to change the Rules of Court Evidence for Indiana to make it easier to prosecute domestic violence cases.
Brizzi says he wants lawmakers to change the rules so that “prior inconsistent statements” can be used in court for substantive purposes. A prior inconsistent statement is a statement made by a witness that contradicts a later statement. Currently such statements can not be used to determine the innocence or guilt of a defendant, but only to impeach their testimony (in other words show they are not believable.)
To protect due process rights, the individual making the statement must be available for cross examination. And then the judge or jury can weigh the evidence and determine which one they want to believe. Brizzi says such a change in the rules of evidence will make it easier to prosecute domestic violence cases because victims will report abuse to police and later change their stories because they were intimidated by their abuser.
Brizzi says he got the idea after making a trip out to San Diego and studying the California system for handling domestic violence. Keep an eye out on this one.
