Opinion ID: 1143911
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Uncontroverted

Text: The majority begins harmlessly enough, noting State Farm's prerogative to attack the credibility of Susie Arnett, notwithstanding it had called her as a witness. Rule 607, Miss.R.Ev. Next, and again correctly, the majority accepts that the subject matter of the prior inconsistent out-of-court statements went to a central issue in the case, whether the Coopers intentionally burned their home or had it intentionally burned. No one suggests this offends our rule against impeachment on a collateral matter. See, e.g., White v. State, 532 So.2d 1207, 1217 (Miss. 1988); Price v. Simpson, 205 So.2d 642, 643 (Miss. 1968). The majority follows with a third rule to which there can be no exception: Prior inconsistent statements, such as those here at issue, are admissible for impeachment purposes, but not as substantive evidence. They are admissible to cast doubt upon the credibility of a witness on a critical issue, but not as substantive proof of the matter asserted. See Official Comment to Rule 801, Miss.R.Ev.; Jordan v. State, 513 So.2d 574, 581 (Miss. 1987); Foster v. State, 508 So.2d 1111, 1119 (Miss. 1987); Moffett v. State, 456 So.2d 714, 719 (Miss. 1984). The Court correctly instructed the Coopers' jury to this effect. There is the matter of double hearsay. Brown, Lomenick and McClain were asked what Arnett said about what Faye Cooper had said. Rule 805, Miss.R.Ev., declares Hearsay included within hearsay is not excluded under the hearsay rule if each part of the combined statements conforms with an exception to the hearsay rule provided in these rules. Of course, what Faye Cooper said to Arnett is an admission and admissible as such. Rule 801(d)(2)(A), Miss.R.Ev. To my mind, what Brown, Lomenick and McClain said Arnett said is then admissible as a prior inconsistent statement, a proper form of impeachment. Rule 613, Miss.R.Ev.