Jump to content

Attorney General v. Hitchcock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Attorney General v. Hitchcock
CourtExchequer Court
Decided10 June 1847
Citation(1847) I Exch. 91, 154 E.R. 38
TranscriptFull text of judgment
Keywords
Hitchcock Rule, Collateral Evidence

Attorney General v. Hitchcock (1847) 154 E.R. 38 establishes the common law "Hitchcock Rule" regarding impeachment of a witness and establishing a test for a collateral matter.[1]

Case Summary

[edit]

Hitchcock was charged with the illegal use of an untaxed cistern to make malt by the Attorney General.[2][3]

Collateral Evidence Test

[edit]

Hitchcock Rule

[edit]

The Hitchcock Rule (also known as the "Collateral Rule") is a common law rule forbidding the introduction of extrinsic evidence to contradict a witness on a collateral matter.[4][5][6] That is, impeachment of a witness as to a collateral fact can only be accomplished by intrinsic methods such as questioning.[7]

Although this test is not found in the Federal Rules of Evidence explicitly it has been imported from the common law under rules 403 and 611.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Attorney General v Hitchcock". vLex. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  2. ^ Meisenholder, Robert (1 October 1947). "EVIDENCE, COMMON SENSE AND COMMON LAW, by John MacArthuir Maguire. Chicago: The Foundation Press, Inc. 1947". University of Miami Law Review. 2 (1): 60.
  3. ^ Moss, Frederick (1982). "The Sweeping-Claims Exception and the Federal Rules of Evidence". Duke Law Journal. 1982 (1): 61–112. doi:10.2307/1372147. JSTOR 1372147.
  4. ^ White, Penny. "The Art of Impeachment & Rehabilitation" (PDF).
  5. ^ ""Collateral Evidence Doctrine," by Unaiza Riaz". www.bowlesrice.com. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  6. ^ Ryan, Daniel. "Lecture 8: Competency, Direct, Cross-Examination, Impeachment and Rehabilitation" (PDF).
  7. ^ Bridges, Don. "Witness Impeachment by Extrinsic Evidence: Objection Sustained or Overruled?" (PDF).
[edit]