ADVERSE INTEREST
The legal right or liability of a person called to testify
as a witness in a lawsuit that might be lost or
impaired if the party who called him or her to testify
wins the case.
This interest against the interest of the party
calling a witness to the stand makes him or her
an adverse or hostile witness. Although usually
the party calling a witness to testify cannot
impeach that person’s credibility, if the person
has an adverse interest, the testimony may be
discredited by the party who called that witness
to the stand.
