Trial Techniques – The Art of Cross-Examination – Part XIV

Rule No. 10 of 12: The successful cross-examiner knows how to force an evasive witness to give a responsive answer.
When a hostile or evasive witness refuses to answer a question, counsel must be firm and persistent in getting the answer desired. The first thing to do is to repeat the question. If the witness continues to evade, ask the witness what it is about the question that he or she does not understand. If necessary, have the court reporter read the question back to the witness. Finally, if all else fails, ask the Court to admonish and instruct the witness to answer the question.
Counsel must control the witness rather than allowing the witness to use counsel to aid his or her cause. Controlling a witness means insisting on an answer and getting the answer. If a witness has testimony in a deposition that is inconsistent with their prior testimony and they do not want to admit to it, they need to be confronted directly and then impeached. If the witness says that the car was blue and they take the stand and say the car is red, they must be shown their prior deposition testimony, they must be asked if they previously testified under oath to a different color, they must be asked to review their deposition, they must be shown their deposition and they must be repeatedly and persistently questioned until they admit the prior inconsistent testimony. Good trial lawyers can get answers to their questions if they are persistent.