WITNESS TESTIMONY & CROSS-EXAMINATION

Witness testimony and cross-examination is a crucial element to a trial, and a difficult skill to master. It can take an attorney years of practice and dedication to learn the best techniques for questioning a witness.

Although there are numerous intricacies and strategies involved in witness cross-examination, there is a typical process by which this phase progresses.

The prosecution will rest when they finish making their case, after which the defense will present their side and do the same. The prosecution is offered an opportunity to then call any rebuttal witnesses.

• The witness is “sworn in” at the stand, affirming their pledge to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
• A “direct examination” begins, where the party who called the witness to the stand will engage in a (often rehearsed) simple question-and-answer with the witness in order to elicit information that strengthens their case.
• When the direct examination concludes, the opposing party will have the option to perform a cross-examination. The goal make the witness answer questions that may discredit their testimony. This can be done in many ways, but a skilled attorney will generally do a good job of exposing holes and inconsistencies with the witness’s account of events, or attacking their credibility.
• Next, there is an option for a re-direct examination carried out by the party who originally called the witness. If there were any negative effects from the cross, this is the best opportunity to repair any damage done.

At any point during a witness examination, objections can be made by the opposing counsel. An objection is an attorney's declaration that evidence set forth or something said, normally a question by an attorney or statement by the witness, should not be seen or heard by the court.

There are a number of reasons a question, statement, or evidence can be inadmissable, but an objections is typically raised because the evidence is excluded by law or what was said is not relevant to the case at hand. The judge can either sustain the objection in agreement that it is inadmissable, or overrule, allowing the evidence to be presented or heard.

Objections require a thorough knowledge of the law, and the ability to think quickly. An attorney must be ready to digest and determine the intention and result of a question in seconds, and object before the question is answered or evidence is heard by the jury.

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