The Danger of Leading Your Witness During Direct Examination
“You ignored the warning labels, didn’t you?” “The posted speed limit was 35 MPH, wasn’t it?” “You told him you would have the contract signed by Thursday, right?” Leading questions. When it comes to cross-examination, leading questions are the best types of questions to ask, because they suggest the desired answer to the witness. Used effectively, leading questions reduce the witness’s responses to a mere “Yes” or “No.” The real power of leading questions is that they...
Read MoreAre you ignoring your witnesses?
During a jury trial, the last thing that you want to do is to offend your jurors or give them a reason to ignore your witness. Yet that’s exactly what many lawyers do One of the best ways you can quickly improve your trial advocacy skills is to watch yourself on video. When you watch yourself presenting an opening statement or conducting a direct examination, you’ll see yourself the same way the jury sees you. (That may be wonderful, or it may be horrifying). But even better than watching...
Read MoreQuick and Easy Trial Graphics
How many times have your witnesses found themselves at a loss for words while trying to explain what happened to them or trying to explain what they saw? It happens more often than you’d like, doesn’t it? Early in my career, I was defending a motion to suppress in a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) case. The issue was whether or not the police officer had a valid reason to stop the defendant’s car. When I asked the officer about the reason for the stop, he told us that the defendant had...
Read MoreOpening statement: Are you promising too much?
“Your closest exit may not be the one in front of you.” “Your seat is a flotation device.” “If we start hurtling to our deaths, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling…” If you’ve flown more than once, you’ve probably ignored this exact same message, haven’t you? It’s the standard safety video they play before your plane taxies down the runway. All of these videos sound pretty much the same, and I’d heard the instructions hundreds of times. But, much to my...
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