# Impeachment pair worksheet

Every impeachment in the outline is emitted as a three-step pair. Do not draft impeachment questions in any other shape, and do not reorder the steps.

## Why the sequence is fixed

Rule 613(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, as amended effective 1 December 2024, provides that extrinsic evidence of a witness's prior inconsistent statement may not be admitted until after the witness is given an opportunity to explain or deny the statement and an adverse party is given an opportunity to examine the witness about it, unless the court orders otherwise. The pre-amendment rule imposed no sequence. The amended rule does, so an outline that lists "impeach with Exhibit 14" without a confrontation step ahead of it is an outline that can be worked in an order that forfeits the impeachment.

Rule 613(a) is the reason the confront step is phrased as a question rather than a document hand-up: when examining a witness about a prior statement you need not show it or disclose its contents to the witness, though you must show or disclose it to opposing counsel on request. Asking first and showing second is what preserves the value of the inconsistency.

Check your jurisdiction. Several states have not adopted the 2024 federal sequence, and some impose a stricter foundation (time, place, and persons present) than the federal rule.

## The pair format

```
### IP-[n] — [one-line label for the inconsistency]
Goal served: [goal number from examination_goals]

1. LOCK: [question that pins the witness to the current version]
   Follow-up if hedged: [narrowing question]
2. CONFRONT: [question naming the prior statement, its date, and its setting]
   [cite — copied verbatim from the record index]
3. INTRODUCE: offer [cite] only after step 2 is answered.
   If the witness adopts the prior statement: stop — you have the testimony,
   do not introduce.
   If the witness denies making it: [foundation line — authorship, signature,
   verification, or transcript certification]
```

## Worked example

```
### IP-1 — Timing of first knowledge of the margin floor
Goal served: goal 1

1. LOCK: "So the first time you saw the 18% margin floor was in April?"
   Follow-up if hedged: "Before this lawsuit, had you seen it at any point
   in the first quarter?"
2. CONFRONT: "Do you recall testifying under oath on 12 May 2026 that you
   saw the floor in February?" [Reyes Dep. 88:4-88:19]
3. INTRODUCE: offer Reyes Dep. 88:4-88:19 only after step 2 is answered.
   If the witness adopts it: stop.
   If the witness denies it: "That transcript carries the reporter's
   certification and you signed the errata on 2 June — correct?"
```

## Drafting rules

- **One inconsistency per pair.** Two inconsistencies in one pair means the witness answers the weaker one.
- **The LOCK question must be answerable yes or no.** An open lock question gives the witness room to pre-empt the confrontation.
- **Name the date and setting in the CONFRONT step.** "You said something different before" is not a confrontation; "you testified on 12 May" is.
- **Write the denial branch before the deposition.** Improvising a foundation for a denied prior statement is where impeachments are lost.
- **Order pairs weakest to strongest** when you have several for one witness. The first impeachment is what makes the witness guarded; spend it on the pair you can most afford to lose.

## Pre-deposition checklist

Complete this before the outline is used. Initial each line.

- [ ] Every cite in the impeachment block resolves to a document in the production or a certified transcript page — checked against the source, not the index.
- [ ] Every prior transcript cite matches the certified transcript, including page and line, and accounts for any errata.
- [ ] No pair relies on a row flagged `privileged` in the record index.
- [ ] Each INTRODUCE step has a drafted denial branch.
- [ ] The jurisdiction's foundation requirement has been checked against the federal sequence above.
- [ ] Exhibit numbers assigned and copies prepared for the witness, the reporter, and each appearing party.