what is a "prosecution rebuttal witness"?

Question

someone has been called as a prosecution rebuttal witness in Phil Spector's trial, what does this mean?

Answer 1

He/she's a witness presented by the prosecution to refute or rebut evidence given by a defence witness - in other words, this witness's evidence will be contrary to what has already been said by the defence witness.

Answer 2

Coragryph is close but not all defense witnesses are rebuttal witnesses. Some will be witnesses of fact maybe supporting an alibi and some may be character witnesses. A rebuttal witness is someone who testifies contrary evidence to that already presented, usually in an expert capacity.
A prosecution rebuttal witness is one who is brought by the prosecution to rebut evidence presented by the defense side usually when this evidence was unexpected.

Answer 3

The standard order of trial is that the plaintiff (or prosecution) present their case, and present evidence necessary to establish all the elements of the claim or charge.

Once the prosecution is done, they rest their case.

The defense is then allowed to present their case, including rebutting prosecution evidence, or asserting affirmative defenses that the defendant must prove.

Once the defense is done (has rested their case), the prosecution gets one last chance to rebut the evidence presented by the defense. Those would be the prosecution rebuttal witnesses.

Answer 4

some one who has previously testified and the prosecution is testing the veracity of the testimony