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Impeccable Impeachment and the Use of Prior Convictions
“Trust is not simply a matter of truthfulness, or even constancy. It is also a matter of amity and goodwill. We trust those who have our best interests at heart, and mistrust those who seem deaf to our concerns.” Gary Hamel What are the limitations on the use of prior convictions in challenging a witness’s →
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Outlining Your Questions… Is There a Better Way?
Exactly how do you want to format your questions? There are several schools of thought on this matter. I know successful attorneys that literally script out every question and every answer to the question. In this way, the attorney can visualize exactly what will take place in the courtroom. Such a format also allows someone →
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Plotting Your Strategy: Does Your Trial Have a Theme?
A theme acts as the unifying thread of your case. It is a thing that motivates the jurors to take action. Your theme needs to be integrated into your jury void dire, opening statement, direct and cross-examination, closing argument and jury instructions. There are number of potential themes. Watch movies and see how things are →
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Looking Good and the Art of Cross-Examination
Cross-examination is the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth. You can do anything with a bayonet except sit on it. A lawyer can do anything with cross-examination if he is skillful enough not to impale his own cause upon it. – John Henry Wigmore There are a number strategies out there regarding →
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Zen and the Art of Trial Advocacy
“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power →
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Strategies for the Cross-Examination of Experts
In my last post, I discussed what a trial attorney can do to prepare for the cross-examination of an adverse expert. Below are some strategies that can be used in successfully cross-examining an adverse expert witness: 1. Favorable Evidence: One tactic that should not be ignored is using the opposing party’s expert to concede to →
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Cross-Examination of Experts: Where to Start.
Where do you start with your preparation to cross-examine an expert? The following is a list of areas to review: 1. The Expert’s Curriculum Vita: You should thoroughly review the expert’s c.v. Expert’s will exaggerate and even make up credentials. In a criminal case I was defending the State’s expert, an environmental specialist, claimed he →
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The Greatest Rule of Cross Examination – Always ask a leading question!
Alright you are getting ready to do your first cross-examination and you wonder what is the most important rule to being successful? It is simply this “Always ask leading questions that provide information supportive of you case.” You ask, “How can that be?” That’s too simple! The rule is easy to announce, but it is →
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Cross Examination: Why Pigs Get Fat & Hogs Get Slaughtered
Cross-examination is often considered by many to be an art. When it comes to strategy, sometimes all you need is a little common sense. We all have heard the old saying, “Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered”, but what’s that got to do with cross-examination? Greed can be a vice and a weakness even →
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Zingers: The power of the “one-liner” in communicating with jurors
There is nothing more powerful in terms of capturing someone’s attention and imbedding your message in their brain than a good one-liner or as I like to call them, a “zinger”. A “zinger” is described as “a surprising or unusually pointed or telling remark.” In today’s modern fast paced world, speechwriters and politicians often work →
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The Silent Cross-Examination… When nothing is better.
Nothing is more thrilling than conducting a good cross-examination of an adverse witness. The attorney through a series of leading questions wrangles concessions and makes his own case through a line of short and concise rhetorical questions that lead to an undeniable conclusion in favor of one’s client. However, there are times when no cross-examination is the best course of →
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The Barrister's Toolbox 