Opinion ID: 2461416
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The January 13 statement

Text: At the pretrial suppression hearing, the prosecution stated it would present only the voluntariness of the January 14 and January 15 statements for review because it had no intention of introducing the January 13 statement into evidence. Yet at the trial, the statement, which was exculpatory, was sought to be introduced for impeachment purposes. Patterson moved to exclude the statement, and the Trial Court held a hearing out of the presence of the jurors to determine its admissibility. It was shown that clearly there was no suprise to Patterson or his counsel who had known of the statement. The only argument seems to be that the State should not have broken its promise. Patterson cites no authority on this point and makes no argument which convinces us that any unfair prejudice resulted from the introduction of the statement. This court does not reverse in the absence of a showing of unfair prejudice. Berna v. State, 282 Ark. 563, 670 S.W.2d 434 (1984), cert, denied, 470 U.S. 1085, 105 S.Ct. 1847, 85 L.Ed.2d 145 (1985).