Bias of a Witness

A witness’s credibility may be attacked with evidence of the witness’s bias, prejudice or interest for or against any party to the case. Comment D.R.E. 616 tracks U.R.E. 616. D.R.E. 616 codifies the principle that the bias of a witness is subject to exploration at trial Weber v. State, Del. Supr., 457 A.2d 674 (1983). For a definition of bias, see United States v. Abel, 469 U.S. 45 (1984). For other Delaware cases illustrating how this rule should be applied, see Garden v. 48 Sutton, Del. Supr., 683 A.2d 1041 (1996) and Snowden v. State, Del. Supr., 672 A.2d 1017 (1996). A party who intends to introduce evidence pursuant to D.R.E. 616 should first seek a ruling from the trial judge as to the admissibility of the evidence. D.R.E. 616 was amended in 2017 in response to the 2011 restyling of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The amendment is intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in ruling on evidence admissibility. ARTICLE VII. OPINIONS AND EXPERT TESTIMONY