Teenage witness in Trayvon Martin case admits she 'misrepresented' herself, prosecution says

[Tommy_Carcetti]

35. The witness could still provide valuable testimony regardless of the statements at issue.

Simply call her to the stand and have her confirm the phone records showing she was on the phone with Trayvon from X to Y. It provides a valuable time stamp that can be contrasted with the time in which Zimmerman was on the phone with dispatch. If the two constrasting records don't jibe with Zimmerman's "pursuit, retreat and ambush" story, it's quite damning evidence.

No need to question the witness about what she said to Trayvon and what Trayvon said to her--the defense would simply try to cast doubt on that evidence as being speculative anyways.

But if you keep the questioning of her solely as to the timeline of the phone call, the scope of cross examination would be limited to that extent as well, and there would be no opportunity for the defense to raise the issue of apparent misrepresentation regarding her attendance at the funeral. Unless this girl has a prior conviction for a crime involving dishonesty (fraud, perjury, etc.), the defense can't attack her as a liar in general. They could only attack her testimony on direct and any conflicting statements on that particular testimony.