§ 25-1211.Witnesses; credibility; impeachment.

Older evidence law sometimes disqualified a witness outright — a felony conviction, an interest in the case outcome, or some other status could bar the person from testifying at all. Nebraska abandoned that approach, and section 25-1211 preserves the useful part of the old rule while dropping its harshest consequence. Facts that used to cause exclusion of testimony can still be shown, but only for the purpose of lessening the testimony’s credibility, not for keeping the witness off the stand.

That shift matters because it moves the decision from the judge, who once decided whether a witness could testify at all, to the fact finder, who now decides how much weight to give the testimony after hearing about the disqualifying fact. A prior conviction or a financial stake in the outcome, for instance, becomes fodder for cross-examination and argument about believability rather than a gatekeeping bar.

This section works alongside the criminal and civil liability provisions in sections 25-1209 and 25-1210. Those sections govern whether a witness has to answer a question at all; this section governs what a party can do with facts about the witness once testimony has been given, to argue the jury should discount it.