VT · jury_instructions
Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions CR05-251
PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS
[Out-of-court statements by witnesses, not under oath]
If you find that any witness who testified here has made statements outside of court, inconsistent with his or her sworn testimony here, you may consider any such inconsistency in judging the credibility of the witness.
You must first decide whether the out-of-court statements were in fact made, and if you find that they were, you may consider them in determining how much weight you will give to the testimony which the witness gave here on the stand. The out-of-court statements are not evidence that the facts were as stated then. The only purpose of the statements is to impeach the witness, that is, to affect the credibility and weight which you give to the witness’s testimony.
[Out-of court statements by witnesses, where some were under oath and subject to penalty of perjury]
If you find that any witness who testified here has made statements outside of court, inconsistent with his or her sworn testimony here, you may consider any such inconsistency in judging the credibility of the witness.
You must first decide whether the out-of-court statements were in fact made, and if you find that they were, you may consider them in determining how much weight you will give to the testimony which the witness gave here on the stand. If the out-of-court statements were not made under oath, then they are not evidence that the facts were as stated then. The only purpose of these statements is to impeach the witness, that is, to affect the credibility and weight which you give to the witness’s testimony. However, if the out-of-court statements were made under oath and subject to the penalties of perjury at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding, or in a deposition, then you may consider these statements as evidence of the facts in this case, and also as evidence tending to impeach the witness. This is a question of fact for you to decide.
[Out-of-court statements by Defendant]
However, if you find that (Def)_______________ has made prior statements, you may consider those statements as evidence of the facts in this case, and also as evidence that may tend to impeach [him] [her] as a witness. This is a question of fact for you to decide.
History
Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions CR05-251 (09/12/03). Prepared by the Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions committee; published on vtjuryinstructions.org, sponsored by the Vermont Bar Association. The committee states that the instructions have not been approved by the Vermont Supreme Court.
Provenance
- Source
- vtjuryinstructions.org
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-25
- Content hash
141f70476fcbb70325db5893614e9a4806f894b25c89b5cdfbfbfb90413f60e1
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