TRIAL PRACTICE SECOND EDITION - Carolina Academic · PDF file1. Recognize Your Story May Be...
Transcript of TRIAL PRACTICE SECOND EDITION - Carolina Academic · PDF file1. Recognize Your Story May Be...
LexisNexis Law School PublishingAdvisory Board
Paul Caron
Professor of Law
Pepperdine University School of Law
Herzog Summer Visiting Professor in Taxation
University of San Diego School of Law
Bridgette Carr
Clinical Professor of Law
University of Michigan Law School
Olympia Duhart
Professor of Law and Director of Lawyering Skills & Values Program
Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law School
Samuel Estreicher
Dwight D. Opperman Professor of Law
Director, Center for Labor and Employment Law
NYU School of Law
Steven I. Friedland
Professor of Law and Senior Scholar
Elon University School of Law
Carole Goldberg
Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law
UCLA School of Law
Oliver Goodenough
Professor of Law
Vermont Law School
Paul Marcus
Haynes Professor of Law
William and Mary Law School
John Sprankling
Distinguished Professor of Law
McGeorge School of Law
TRIAL PRACTICE
SECOND EDITION
MICHAEL W. MARTINClinical Professor of Law
Fordham University School of Law
PAUL RADVANYClinical Associate Professor of Law
Fordham University School of Law
LAWRENCE A. DUBINProfessor of Law
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
THOMAS F. GUERNSEYPresident and Dean, and Professor of Law
Albany Law School
ISBN: 978-0-7698-5533-2 (print)
ISBN: 978-0-3271-8022-7 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martin, Michael W. (Michael William), 1964- author.
Trial practice / Michael W. Martin, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law; Paul
Radvany , Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law; Lawrence A. Dubin, Professor of Law
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; Thomas T. Guernsey, President & Dean, and Professor of Law Albany Law
School. -- Second Edition.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-7698-5533-2
1. Trial practice--United States. I. Radvany, Paul, author. II. Dubin, Lawrence, 1943- author. III. Guernsey, Thomas T.,
author. IV. Title.
KF8915.M35 2014
347.73\75--dc23
2013042409
This publication is designed to provide authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is soldwith the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professionalservices. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should besought.
LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used underlicense. Matthew Bender and the Matthew Bender Flame Design are registered trademarks of Matthew BenderProperties Inc.
Copyright © 2014 Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of LexisNexis. All Rights Reserved.
No copyright is claimed by LexisNexis or Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., in the text of statutes, regulations, andexcerpts from court opinions quoted within this work. Permission to copy material may be licensed for a fee fromthe Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, Mass. 01923, telephone (978) 750-8400.
NOTE TO USERS
To ensure that you are using the latest materials available in this area, please be sure
to periodically check the LexisNexis Law School web site for downloadable updates
and supplements at www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool.
Editorial Offices
121 Chanlon Rd., New Providence, NJ 07974 (908) 464-6800
201 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94105-1831 (415) 908-3200
www.lexisnexis.com
(2014–Pub.3570)
Dedications
Michael W. Martin:
For Frederick J. Martin, Jr., my inspiration for the law and
trial practice; and for Robbi, Shaye, and Brynn,
my inspiration for everything else.
Paul Radvany:
For my wonderful family, Kim, Katie, and Jason.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the years.
I also want to thank my parents for their support and
for inspiring me to become a professor.
iii
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Honorable John F. Keenan, United States District
Judge for the Southern District of New York, and Associate Professor James A. Cohen, for
their comments on earlier drafts of this Second Edition, as well as Fordham University
School of Law for its support, which included funding for research assistants and Deans
Fellows, who assisted in the Second Edition’s research.
v
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 CASE THEORY AND STORYTELLING: TRIAL
ADVOCACY BUILDING BLOCKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
II. CASE THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A. A Case Theory Is What Happened and Why You Should Win . . . . . . . . . . . 3
B. Case Theory’s Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
C. You Must Understand Your Adversary’s Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
D. Developing Your Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1. Formulate Early and Revise When Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. Know the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3. Make Sure Your Case Theory Is Simple and Makes Sense . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. Your Case Theory Must Be Consistent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Find Admissible, Corroborating Evidence to Show Why Your Client’s
Version Should Be Believed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6. Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses (and Turn Your Weaknesses into
Strengths) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
7. Sequence and Emphasize Artfully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
8. Seize the Moral High Ground and Focus on the Other Side’s
Wrongdoing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
9. Shape the Theory to the Client’s Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10. Never Base the Case Theory on Facts Known to Be False . . . . . . . . . . . 17
III. BRINGING THE CASE THEORY TO TRIAL: THE IMPORTANCE OF
STORYTELLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
A. Why Storytelling? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
B. Jurors Creating Their Own Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
C. How Do Jurors Create Their Own Stories? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
D. How Lawyers Can Influence the Jurors’ Story-Making Process . . . . . . . . 21
1. Recognize Your Story May Be Built on Fact Remnants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2. Begin Storytelling in Voir Dire and Do Not End Until Summation . . . . . 21
3. Make Your Story About People and the Way the Dispute Has
Affected Their Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4. Emphasize Injustice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5. Be Concise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6. Explain Opposing Party’s Motive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7. Use Case Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8. Use Facts, Not Characterizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
9. Present Your Story Visually — “Show and Tell” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
vii
10. Deliver Story with Vigor, Simplicity, and Conviction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter 2 EVIDENCE AND OBJECTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
II. WHY YOU OBJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
III. MOTIONS IN LIMINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
IV. HOW TO BEST PREPARE YOURSELF FOR OBJECTING AT TRIAL . . . 29
A. Be Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
B. Know Your Judge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
C. Know Your Opposing Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
D. Consider the Jurors’ Perception of Your Objecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
E. Prepare for Foreseeable Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
F. Learn and Understand the Most Common Objections and Their
Evidentiary Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
G. Recognize Situations that Give Rise to Objectionable Conduct . . . . . . . . . 31
H. Listen for Certain Buzzwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
I. Be Willing to Make Mistakes and Be Overruled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
V. TECHNIQUES AND TACTICS FOR OBJECTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
A. Stand and Address the Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
B. Say “Objection” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
C. Be Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
D. Be Courteous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
E. Be Prepared to Object with Specificity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
F. State Alternative Grounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
G. Sever Objectionable from Non-Objectionable Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
H. Request Appropriate Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
I. Insist on a Ruling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
J. Stay on the Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
K. Only Object for Legitimate Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
L. Good Faith Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
M. Be Assertive and Confident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
N. Use Emotion Sparingly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
O. Avoid Being Argumentative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
P. Be Aware of How the Judge Is Ruling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
VI. OFFERS OF PROOF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
VII. COMMON OBJECTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
A. Objections as to the Form of the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
1. The Question Is Ambiguous (Federal Rules of Evidence 611(a) and
403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2. The Question Is Argumentative (Federal Rules of Evidence 611(a) and
Table of Contents
viii
403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3. The Question Assumes Facts Not in Evidence (Federal Rules of Evidence
611(a) and 403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4. The Question Calls for Improper Hypothetical Answer (Federal Rule of
Evidence 703) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5. The Question Is Leading (Federal Rule of Evidence 611(c)) . . . . . . . . . . 50
6. The Question Is Misleading (Federal Rules of Evidence 611(a)
and 403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
7. The Question Asks Multiple Questions, i.e., Is Compound (Federal
Rules of Evidence 611(a) and 403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8. The Question Calls for a Narrative Response (Federal Rule of Evidence
611(a)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9. The Question Has Been Asked and Answered (Federal Rules of Evidence
403 and 611) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10. The Question Calls for the Witness to Speculate (Federal Rules of
Evidence 602 and 701) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
B. Objections as to the Substantive Content to Be Elicited in the Response . . . 59
1. Irrelevant (Federal Rule of Evidence 401) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2. Unduly Prejudicial (Federal Rule of Evidence 403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3. Unnecessarily Duplicative or Cumulative (Federal Rule of Evidence
403) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4. Improper Character Evidence (Federal Rules of Evidence 404(a), 405,
608, and 609) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5. Improper Habit or Business Practice (Federal Rule of Evidence 406) . . . 64
6. Improper Use of Remedial Measures (Federal Rule of Evidence 407) . . . 64
7. Improper Use of Settlement Negotiations (Federal Rules of Evidence
408 and 410) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
8. Improper Use of Liability Insurance (Federal Rule of Evidence 411) . . . 66
9. Incompetent Witness (Federal Rules of Evidence 601 and 602) . . . . . . . 67
10. No Foundation for Testimony (Federal Rules of Evidence 602 and
701) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
11. Improper Impeachment (Federal Rules of Evidence 607, 608, 609, and
613) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
12. Improper Use of Religion (Federal Rule of Evidence 610) . . . . . . . . . . . 69
13. Cross-Examination Question Exceeds Scope of Direct (Federal Rule of
Evidence 611(b)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
14. Improper Refreshing Recollection (Federal Rules of Evidence 612 and
805) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
15. Opinion Rule Violated (Federal Rule of Evidence 701) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
16. Improper Expert Opinions (Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 703, 704, and
Table of Contents
ix
705) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
17. Hearsay (Federal Rules of Evidence 801–807) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
18. Improper Authentication and Identification (Federal Rule of Evidence
901) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
19. Best Evidence Rule (Federal Rules of Evidence 1001–1004) . . . . . . . . . 74
20. Improper Bolstering of Credibility (Federal Rule of Evidence 608(a)) . . . 75
21. Unreliable Scientific Evidence (Based on Insufficient Data or Unreliable
Principles and Methods, or the Unreliable Application Thereof) (Federal
Rule of Evidence 702) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
22. Improper Expert Testimony on Certain Ultimate Issues (Federal Rule of
Evidence 704) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
23. Improper Judicial Notice (Federal Rule of Evidence 201) . . . . . . . . . . . 77
24. Improper Questioning by a Judge (Federal Rule of Evidence 614) . . . . . 77
25. Improper Presumption (Federal Rule of Evidence 301) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
C. Objections Common to Voir Dire, Opening Statements, and Closing Arguments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
D. The Ethics of Using Objections for Extralegal Purposes: Use of Objections to
Disrupt Rhythm and Instruct the Witness and/or the Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter 3 JURY SELECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
II. PRELIMINARY MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
A. Decision No. 1: Whether or Not to Demand a Jury Trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
B. Knowing How Voir Dire Is Conducted in Your Courtroom . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
1. Judicial-Led Voir Dire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
2. What Questioning System Is Used in Your Courtroom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3. How Many Jurors and Alternates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4. Does Your Case Warrant a Juror Questionnaire? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
C. Pre-Trial Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
1. Should You Invest in Jury Consulting Services? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
2. Should Your Client Participate in the Voir Dire Process? . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
D. Primer on Understanding the Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
1. How Have the Jurors Arrived at the Courthouse? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
2. How Do Jurors Generally Make Decisions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
a. Jurors Work Within the Story Construct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
b. Jurors’ Cross-Referencing Will Be Influenced by Specific
Attitudes and Beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
c. Jurors Live in a Digital Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
d. Jurors Are Not Created Equally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
i. Affective-cognitive continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Table of Contents
x
ii. Authoritarianism-individualism continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
iii. Persuaders, participants, and non-participants continuum . . . . . . . 95
E. Pre-Trial Preparation for Voir Dire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
1. Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
2. Know the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3. Identify the Ideal Juror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4. Prepare Voir Dire Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
III. THE OBJECTIVES OF VOIR DIRE AND HOW TO ACHIEVE THEM . . . . 96
A. Obtaining Information About the Prospective Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
1. The Type of Information You Want . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
2. How to Ask Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
3. Impediments to Gathering Information and How to Overcome Them . . 100
a. The Impediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
b. How to Overcome the Impediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
B. Begin Telling Your Client’s Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
C. Begin Process of Building Rapport and Showing Jurors That You Are
Trustworthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
IV. TYPES OF CHALLENGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
A. Challenge to the Entire Jury Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
B. Challenges for Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
C. Peremptory Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
V. STRUCTURING THE VOIR DIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
B. Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
C. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
VI. DEALING WITH UNFRIENDLY AND FRIENDLY JUROR
RESPONSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
A. Negative Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
B. Getting a Juror to Admit Partiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
1. General Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
2. Prejudice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
C. Silent Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
D. Negative Spiraling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
E. Friendly Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
1. Shielding the Good Juror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
2. Using the Overly Sympathetic Juror to Your Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . 119
F. Ingratiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
G. Bias After Trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
VII. AVOIDING OBJECTIONABLE CONDUCT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
VIII. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Table of Contents
xi
Chapter 3 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
I. JUDICIAL-LED VOIR DIRE EXAMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
II. JUROR QUESTIONNAIRE EXAMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
III. JOINT VOIR DIRE REQUESTS EXAMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 4 OPENING STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
I. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF AN OPENING “STATEMENT” IS TO
“ARGUE” YOUR CASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
II. ESTABLISHING YOUR CREDIBILITY EARLY IS CRUCIAL . . . . . . . . 144
III. ORGANIZING YOUR OPENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
A. You Must Have a Strong Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
B. Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
C. The Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
D. Only Refer to Key Witnesses or Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
E. Anticipating Defenses; Revealing and Inoculating Weaknesses . . . . . . . 155
F. Discuss the Burden of Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
G. Discuss Motive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
H. Consider Referring to the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
I. Consider Discussing Damages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
J. End Strong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
IV. DEFENDANT’S OPENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
A. Argue Your Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
B. Begin Strong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
C. Cast Doubt on Your Adversary’s and Their Witnesses’ Credibility . . . . . 162
D. Limit the Impact of Your Adversary’s Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
E. Discuss the Absence of Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
F. Discuss the Burden of Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
G. Reserving the Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
V. WRITING THE OPENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
A. Write an Outline First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
B. Argue Without Arguing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
C. Make It Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
D. Avoid Legalese and Words You Will Trip Over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
E. Do Not Use Too Many Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
F. Frame the Issue the Jury Will Have to Resolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
G. Use Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
H. Provide Details on Important Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
VI. SOME DON’TS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
VII. PRESENTING THE OPENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
A. Keep the Jurors’ Attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Table of Contents
xii
B. Use Visual Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
C. Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
D. Speak Directly to the Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
E. Some Don’ts Regarding Your Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
VIII. SAMPLE OPENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Chapter 5 DIRECT EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
II. THE BIG PICTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
A. Objectives of Direct Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
B. Preparing Direct Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
C. Storytelling Through Direct Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
D. Witness Selection: Determining Whom to Call and in What Order . . . . . . 190
1. Whom to Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
a. Choose Only Those Witnesses Who Are Helpful to Proving
Your Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
b. Too Many Witnesses May Confuse the Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
c. Your Case Theory and Claims’ (or Crimes’) Prima Facie Elements Must
Guide You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
d. Choose the More Credible Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
e. Cumulative Witness Testimony May Affect Interest and Emotional
Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
2. In What Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
a. Let Logic and Clarity Guide Your Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
b. Start and End with a Good Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
c. Start Each Trial Day with a Good Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
d. Place Bad Witnesses Towards the End of Each Day . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
e. Allow the Jurors to Reach Conclusions Themselves . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
f. Consider Taking Risks, but Do So Carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
E. Special Considerations Regarding Witness Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
1. Calling Your Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
2. Calling a Non-Party Eye Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
3. Calling a Character Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
4. Calling an Adverse or Hostile Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
F. Preparing Your Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
1. Set Aside Adequate Time to Prepare Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
2. Address a Witness’s Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
3. Instruct the Witness on the Role to be Played . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
a. Inform About the Ethical Propriety of Preparing the Witness . . . . . . 200
b. Explain How the Witness’s Testimony Fits Within the
Table of Contents
xiii
Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
c. Explain Proper Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
4. Refresh the Witness’s Recollection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
a. Review the Witness’s Recollection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
b. Familiarize the Witness with Exhibits and Visual Aids . . . . . . . . . . . 201
c. Revisit the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
5. Observe a Trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
6. Prepare the Witness to Testify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
a. Do the Prep Sessions Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
b. Prepare for the Witness Prep Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
c. Practice Mock Questions and Answers for Direct Examination . . . . 203
d. Make Suggestions for Testifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
i. Take role seriously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
ii. Do not memorize testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
iii. Pay attention to jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
iv. Do not mumble and only give verbal answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
v. Listen and take your time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
vi. Be clear in delivery and substance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
vii. Avoid appearing partisan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
viii. Do not take objections personally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
ix. Do not unintentionally qualify testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
x. Avoid self-pity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
7. Prepare the Witness for Cross-Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
a. Tell the Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
b. Only Answer the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
c. Immediately Clarify Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
d. Most Questions Will Be Leading — Do Not Simply Agree . . . . . . . . 209
e. Explain When Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
f. Do Not Speculate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
g. Be Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
h. Do Not Look to Your Lawyer for Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
i. If Necessary, Patiently Await Redirect Examination to Fully
Explain the Truncated and Controlled Answers Elicited on
Cross-Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
j. Do Not Grimace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
k. If Asked on Cross About Discussing the Case with Anyone . . . . . . . . 210
l. Listen to the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
8. Use an Interpreter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
G. Structure for Direct Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
1. Introduction of Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Table of Contents
xiv
2. Building Your Witness’s Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
a. Humanize Your Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
b. Show Your Witness’s Firsthand Knowledge of the Relevant Events and
Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
c. Use Open-Ended Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
d. Discuss the Demeanor the Jurors Will Likely Be Expecting from the
Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
e. Reflect Confidence in the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
f. Avoid Appearing Frustrated or Angry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
g. Ease the Witness into the Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
h. Accept Blame if the Witness Is Confused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
i. Refresh Recollection or Use Past Recollection Recorded
When Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
j. Deal with Bad Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
3. Development of the Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
a. Set the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
b. Describe the Action: Chronological vs. Topical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
4. Anticipate the Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
5. Vary the Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
III. THE DETAILS: DRAFTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
A. Drafting Direct Examination Questions in Advance Versus Outlining . . . 234
B. Cardinal Rules of Drafting Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
1. Use Open-Ended, Non-Leading Questions to Elicit the Witness’s Story:
Who, What, Where, When, and Why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
2. Use Narrative Questions Sparingly and Only with Well-Prepared
Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
3. Use Closed-Ended Questions for Greater Control of the Witness . . . . . 239
4. Use Leading Questions in Exceptional Circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
5. Draft Simple, Short Questions with Plain Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
6. Select Language Partial to Your Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
7. Avoid Unnecessary Questions and Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
8. Avoid Pronouns and Other Potentially Vague Language . . . . . . . . . . . 242
9. Use and Seek to Elicit Verbs, Not Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
10. Looping the Last Response into the Next Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
11. Keep the Questions in the Present Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
12. Use Topic Sentences to Assist with Topic Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
13. Drafting with an Eye Toward Potential Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
14. Anticipate Cross-Examination — Dealing with Negative Facts . . . . . . . 247
15. Conclude on a Strong Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
16. Knowing When to End a Topic and the Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Table of Contents
xv
IV. LAYING PROPER EVIDENTIARY FOUNDATIONS ON DIRECT
EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
A. Refreshing Present Memory vs. Past Recollection Recorded . . . . . . . . . . 251
1. Refreshing Recollection — Temporary Memory Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
2. Past Recollection Recorded — Total Memory Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
a. Two Common Past Recorded Recollection Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
b. Past Recollection Recorded Is a Hearsay Exception . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
c. Inadmissibility of the Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
d. Past Recollection Recorded’s Foundational Elements . . . . . . . . . . . 256
B. Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
V. DELIVERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
A. Make It Interesting — Do Not Bore the Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
1. Be Thrifty with Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
2. Use Only Necessary Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
3. Listen to the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
4. Watch the Jurors Discreetly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
5. Make Sure the Jurors Can Hear You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
6. Create Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
7. Use Visuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
8. Alter Your Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
9. Control the Pace of Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
10. Control the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
11. In Important Moments, Consider Having the Witness Speak to the
Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
B. Keep the Testimony Credible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
1. Corroborate Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
2. Help the Witness Relax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
3. Hide Anxiety or Frustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
4. Show Interest in the Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
C. Get Out of the Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
1. Never Position Yourself Between the Witness and Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
2. Eliminate Distracting Mannerisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
D. Handle the Adverse Party’s Objections Smoothly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
1. Dealing with Objections Made for Proper and Improper Purposes . . . . . 274
2. Avoiding Unnecessary Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
a. Avoiding Objections by Forming Questions Properly . . . . . . . . . . . 276
b. Do Not Try to Elicit Inadmissible Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
c. If Evidence Appears Admissible but You Are Unsure, Develop
Foundation Before Eliciting Questionable Evidence and Be
Prepared for an Objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
3. When Your Adversary Objects, Listen, then Rebut or Withdraw . . . . . . 279
Table of Contents
xvi
VI. REDIRECT EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
A. Limit the Scope to Cross-Examination Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
B. Assess Redirect’s Necessity, then Be Concise and Effıcient . . . . . . . . . . . 280
C. Look to Restore Any Loss of Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
D. Add Questions to Hurt Opposing Counsel’s Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
1. Allow the Witness to Expand Upon the Cross-Examination’s
“Yes” or “No” Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
2. Spotlight Opposing Counsel’s Avoidance of Bad Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
E. Clarify Confusing Answers or Potentially Vague Implications from Cross-
Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
F. Start and End Strong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
VII. COMMON PITFALLS IN DIRECT EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
A. Prepare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
B. Do Not Get Rattled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
C. Do Not Rattle Your Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
D. Avoid Questions Susceptible to Form Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
E. Handle Objections Effıciently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
F. Handle Exhibits Properly and Smoothly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
G. Do Not Be Rude to Your Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
H. Only Interrupt the Witness When Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
I. Do Not Confuse the Witness, and Take the Blame if You Do . . . . . . . . . . 287
J. Avoid Legalese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
K. Do Not Repeat the Witness’s Answer Unnecessarily or Otherwise
Respond to the Witness, Other than to Ask the Next Question . . . . . . . . . 287
L. Avoid Distracting Ticks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
M. Never Stop Listening to the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
N. Do Not Let the Witness Omit the Answer or Details You Need . . . . . . . . 288
O. Avoid Poor Pacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
P. Do Not Create an Ambiguous Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Q. Do Not Avoid the Hard Questions on Direct or Otherwise Fail to
Anticipate Cross-Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
R. Do Not Be Rattled by a Judge’s Invoking the Right to Question or
Otherwise Call a Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
S. Do Not Speak to Your Witness During a Break in Cross-Examination, as
Opposing Counsel Will Exploit this Conversation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Chapter 6 EXHIBIT ADMISSION AND THE USE OF EXHIBITS AND
VISUAL PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
II. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Table of Contents
xvii
A. Choosing Exhibits to Admit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
B. Choosing the Best Witness Through Whom to Admit the Exhibits . . . . . . 293
C. Admitting Exhibits Through Witness Testimony and “Subject to
Connection” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
D. Pre-Trial Consenting to Admission of Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
E. Stipulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
F. Judicial Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
III. OVERVIEW OF THE NECESSARY STEPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
IV. STEPS NEEDED TO INTRODUCE AN EXHIBIT INTO EVIDENCE . . . 298
A. Protect the Record by Marking the Proposed Exhibit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
B. Show the Proposed Exhibit to Opposing Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
C. Request the Court’s Permission to Approach the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
D. Show the Exhibit to the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
E. Through the Witness, Show that the Exhibit Is Authentic, Relevant, and
Admissible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
1. Authentic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
a. The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
b. Authenticate Internet-Based Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
c. Testimonial Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
2. Relevant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
3. Laying the Required Evidentiary Foundation to Ensure Admissibility . . 309
F. Offer the Proposed Exhibit into Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
G. Respond to Objections to the Proposed Exhibit’s Admissibility . . . . . . . . 316
1. Dealing with an Objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
2. Obtaining a Ruling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
3. When the Court Sustains an Objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
a. Whether to Argue Further . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
b. Attempt a Redaction or Offer for a Limited Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
c. Offer of Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
4. Objections from the Objecting Party’s View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
5. Requesting a Voir Dire Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
H. Ensure the Exhibit Is Entered into Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
I. Show the Exhibit’s Significance Through the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
J. Publication of Exhibit to Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
V. EXAMPLES OF EXHIBIT ADMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
A. Physical or “Real” Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
1. Chain of Custody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
2. Voir dire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
3. Publishing to the Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
4. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Table of Contents
xviii
a. Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
b. Defective Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
c. Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
d. Car Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
e. Writings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
i. Writings with substantive legal significance: Contracts, confessions,
trusts, and wills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
a) Best Evidence Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
ii. Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
iii. E-Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
iv. Text messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
v. Website information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
B. Demonstrative Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
1. Photographs and Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
2. X-Rays, MRIs, and CT-Scans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
3. Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
4. Audio Recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
5. Maps, Charts, and Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
6. Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
7. Summaries of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
8. Computer-Generated Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
C. Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
1. Business Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
2. Public Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
3. Computer Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
a. Authenticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
b. Hearsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
D. Exceptions to the Foundational Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
1. Stipulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
2. Pleadings, Admissions, and Discovery Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
3. Self-Authenticating Documents and Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
VI. EXHIBITS NOT ADMITTED AS EVIDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
A. When You Are Not Seeking to Admit: Exhibits as Illustrative and Argumentative
Visual Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
B. Improving Your Use of Visual Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
VII. FINAL THOUGHTS: STAYING ORGANIZED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Chapter 7 CROSS-EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Table of Contents
xix
II. REDUCING THE NEED FOR CROSS-EXAMINATION BY LIMITING
THE WITNESS’S EFFECTIVENESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
III. OBJECTIVES OF CROSS-EXAMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
A. Objective #1: Elicit Favorable and Helpful Information First . . . . . . . . . 368
B. Objective #2: Elicit Evidence that Discredits the Testimony of the
Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
1. Attack the Substance, but Not Necessarily the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
2. Basis for Attacking the Substance of Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
a. A Witness Must Have Personal Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
b. The Elements of Personal Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
i. Perception: Receipt of data through the senses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
1) Explore Obstacles to Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
2) Explore the Facts Behind a Witness’s Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
ii. Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
1) External Factors That Influence Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
2) Internal Factors That Influence Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
3) Listen for Key Words/Phrases Indicating Witness Is Not Positive
About His Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
iii. Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
1) Witnesses Must Be Able to Communicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
2) Clarify the Witness’s Testimony When Appropriate . . . . . . . . . 378
3. Contradiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
a. Establish That Another Witness Should Have More Accurate
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
b. Elicit Contradictions Among Other Side’s Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
c. Highlight the Difference Between Testimony and Conduct . . . . . . . . 380
C. Objective #3: Elicit Evidence That Discredits the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . 381
1. Impeachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
2. Ask If the Witness Has Talked to Anyone About Testimony . . . . . . . . 381
3. Elicit “I Don’t Know” Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
IV. TECHNIQUES AND TACTICS FOR CROSS-EXAMINATION . . . . . . . 383
A. Cross-Examination Requires Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
1. Read Everything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
2. Make Sure Witness’s Prior Statements Are Easily Accessible . . . . . . . . 384
3. Do Your Homework During Trial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
B. Invoke the Sequestration Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
C. Determine Whether Witness Should Be Cross-Examined . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
1. As a General Rule, Every Witness Should Be Cross-Examined . . . . . . . 386
2. Your Cross-Examination Need Not Be Lengthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
3. A Very Short Cross-Examination Can Be Powerful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
4. Do Not Cross if There Is Nothing to Gain, and You Fear Giving Your
Table of Contents
xx
Adversary Redirect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
D. Cross-Examination Generally Cannot Go Beyond Topics Discussed During
Witness’s Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
1. Credibility Issues Are Fair Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
2. You Cannot Strategically Limit Direct to Prevent Damaging Cross . . . . 388
E. Only Cover Important Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
1. Jurors Want a Focused Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
2. The “Control Vehicle” — Know the Answer to Most, if Not All, of Your
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
3. Questions to Which You Lack Answers Are Safe if the Desired Answers
Comport with Common Sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
F. Do Not Repeat the Direct Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
G. Do Not Cross on a Topic Simply Because It Is in Your Outline . . . . . . . . 390
H. Do Not Allow Witness to Clarify Confusing Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
I. Maintain Objectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
J. Know When to Stop (the “80% Rule”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
K. Watch Experienced Lawyers Cross-Examine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
L. Practice Your Cross-Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
V. FORMULATING QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
A. Outline of Topics Before Drafting Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
B. Draft Unobjectionable Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
C. Drag Out Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
D. Do Not Feel Compelled to Use a Logical and Linear Structure . . . . . . . . 395
1. Chronological Is Not Always the Most Effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
2. You Must End with a Bang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
3. Avoid Ending with a Sustained Objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
E. Control the Witness at All Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
1. Ask Leading Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
2. Use Plain and Concise Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
3. Ask Specific Questions That Require Specific Responses: One Fact Per
Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
4. Never Invite Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
5. Do Not Use Adjectives or Characterizations: On Cross, They Get You in
Trouble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
a. First Exception — You Are Using the Witness’s Own Words . . . . . . 401
b. Second Exception — It Is Obvious That the Adjective Is
Appropriate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
6. Controlling the Witness Who Does Not Answer Your Question . . . . . . 401
7. Techniques for Dealing with the Witness Who Answers Either “Yes” or
“No,” but then Provides an Explanation for His Answer . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Table of Contents
xxi
a. Establish the Ground Rules from the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
b. Ask the Judge to Instruct the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
c. Move to Strike if the Answer Is Not Responsive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
d. Interrupt the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
e. After the Witness Finishes, Make a Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
f. Repeating the Question Verbatim Is Usually the Most Effective
Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
VI. LAWYER DEMEANOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
A. Beginning the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
1. Begin Immediately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
2. Don’t Introduce Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
B. Demonstrate Confidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
C. Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
D. Where to Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
E. Where to Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
F. Watch and Listen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
1. Watch for Non-Verbal Clues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
2. Listen Carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
G. Appear Fair and Courteous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
H. Demonstrate Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
I. Do Not Argue with the Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
J. Reacting to Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
1. Temper Your Reaction to Helpful Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
2. Do Not React to Harmful Testimony, Though Seek to Limit the
Harm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
VII. THE SEVEN “RULES” OF CROSS-EXAMINATION AND WHEN,
IF EVER, TO BREAK THEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
A. Rule #1: Only Ask Leading Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
B. Rule # 2: Do Not Use Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
C. Rule # 3: Never Ask for an Explanation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
D. Rule # 4: Never Ask a Question When You Do Not Know the Answer . . . . 411
E. Rule # 5: The “O.J. Simpson Rule” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
F. Rule # 6: Don’t End on a Sustained Objection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
G. Rule # 7: Don’t Ask One Question Too Many . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
H. Rule # 8: Follow Rules 1–7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Chapter 8 IMPEACHMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
A. You Can Impeach Any Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
B. You Can Impeach on Matters Relevant to Truthfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Table of Contents
xxii
C. The Proper Way to Impeach Varies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
D. No Extrinsic Evidence Is Allowed if the Witness Untruthfully Denies a
Collateral Fact or Admits the Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
E. If Impeached, a Witness May Be Rehabilitated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
II. FORMS OF IMPEACHMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
A. Prior Inconsistent Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
1. General Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
a. Choose a Prior Inconsistent Statement Goal: Discredit Witness or
Elevate Prior Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
i. An example to illustrate the choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
ii. Choosing to impeach the witness as unreliable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
iii. Choosing to promote the prior inconsistent statement as
reliable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
b. Don’t Impeach Every Inconsistent Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
c. Consider Whether or Not to Repeat the Witness’s Direct
Testimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
d. Don’t Ask the “One Question Too Many” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
2. Types of Impeachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
a. Impeachment by Written Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
i. At common law: Foundation needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
ii. The federal rules: Opportunity to admit only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
iii. Strategically, you still may want to lay the common law
foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
b. Impeachment by Oral Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
i. Similar approach to impeaching with a prior written statement . . . 426
ii. Recorded oral statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
c. Impeachment with a Prior Inconsistent Deposition Statement . . . . . . 428
i. Choose carefully when to impeach with a prior inconsistent deposition
statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
ii. If you have several points in which to impeach a witness, give the witness
the deposition transcript from which to read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
iii. Bring at least three copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
iv. Know your goal: Discredit witness or elevate prior statement . . . . 429
v. Quote, don’t paraphrase, from the deposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
d. Impeachment Using an Omission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
B. Bias, Prejudice, Interest, Incentives, and Corrupt or Improper Motive . . . 435
C. Prior Criminal Convictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
D. Prior Bad Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
E. Character Witness Offering Reputation or Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
F. Impeaching When Witness Does Not Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Table of Contents
xxiii
III. REHABILITATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Chapter 9 EXPERT TESTIMONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
II. THE LAW GOVERNING THE USE OF EXPERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
A. Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Daubert, and Frye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
1. Federal Courts: Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert . . . . . . . . . 443
2. State Courts: Frye, Daubert, or Hybrid? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
B. Expert Disclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
III. SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF AN EXPERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
A. Choosing and Retaining an Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
B. Preparing the Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
1. Ensure the Expert Has Reviewed All Information on Which the Expert’s
Opinion Is Based . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
2. Be Careful About Sharing Privileged Communication with the
Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
3. Prepare Your Expert to Have the Same Demeanor on Direct and
Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
4. Remind the Expert to Address the Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
5. Remind the Expert to Speak Simply and Clearly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
6. Remind Your Expert to Treat Questions About Treatises and Other
Sources with Special Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
7. Remind Your Expert to Correct Errors Promptly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
IV. DIRECT EXAMINATION OF EXPERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
A. Introducing the Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
B. Qualifying the Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
1. Eliciting the Witness’s Training and Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
a. The Unopposed, Uncontested Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
b. The Contested, Opposed Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
i. How to elicit enough detail about expert’s experience and training
without boring the jurors and judge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
1) Alert the Jurors to the Credentials’ Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
2) Prevent the Witness From Rambling with Questions That
Elicit Short Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
3) The Use of Exhibits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
4) Breaking-Up the Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
5) Emphasize the Witness’s Relevant Practical Experience . . . . . . . 457
ii. How to deal with the frequent expert witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
2. Proffering the Expert Witness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
3. Responding to an Offer to Stipulate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Table of Contents
xxiv
4. Reinforce the Expert’s Testimony with Other Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
C. Qualifying the Subject Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
D. Educating the Jury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
E. Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
1. Use Open-Ended, Understandable Questions with Sufficient Boundaries
That Beget Short, Understandable Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
2. Get Answers That Are Immediately Understandable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
3. Have the Expert Replace Technical Jargon with Understandable
Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
F. Connecting the Witness to the Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
G. Basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
1. Basis Not Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
2. Four Categories of Acceptable Basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
3. The Testifying Expert Witness as Spectator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
4. The Hypothetical Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
a. The Pitfalls of Hypotheticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
b. Avoiding the Pitfalls of Hypotheticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
c. When to Use a Hypothetical Strategically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
H. The Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
1. Opining on the Ultimate Factual Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
2. Framing the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
3. Degree of Certainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
I. Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
J. Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
K. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
V. CROSS-EXAMINATION OF EXPERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
A. Challenge the Expert’s Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
B. Challenge the Area of Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
C. Challenge the Expert’s Impartiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
D. Elicit Prior Inconsistent Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
E. Challenge Underlying Facts and Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
F. Challenge with a Treatise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
G. Challenge a Hypothetical Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
H. Challenge the Witness in a Friendly or Unfriendly Manner . . . . . . . . . . 492
I. Maintain Control Over the Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
VI. REDIRECT OF EXPERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Chapter 10 CLOSING ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
II. REFER TO CHAPTER 4, OPENING STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Table of Contents
xxv
III. DRAFT YOUR SUMMATION BEFORE THE TRIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
IV. STRUCTURE OF CLOSING ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
A. Introduction: Start Strong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
B. Thank the Jurors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
C. Connect Closing Argument to Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
D. The Applicable Substantive Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
E. Tell the Jury What Issue(s) They Will Have to Decide When They
Deliberate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
F. Win the Battle of the Competing Witnesses, and You Will Win the
War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
G. Review Significant Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
1. Your Summation Must Be Understandable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
2. Your Summation Must Be Persuasive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
a. Maintain Your Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
b. Draw Appropriate Inferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
c. Argue Motive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
d. Stick with Your Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
e. Make Them Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
i. Personalize your client, witnesses, and victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
ii. Highlight an important principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
iii. Reveal the injustice of the opposition’s case theory . . . . . . . . . . . 511
3. Your Summation Must Be Memorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
a. Start and End Strong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
b. Repeat Your Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
c. Make Your Arguments Vivid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
d. Use Visual Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
H. Show the Cracks in Your Opponent’s Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
I. Discuss Applicable Burden of Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
J. Damages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
K. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
L. Rebuttal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
V. TECHNIQUES FOR A SUCCESSFUL CLOSING ARGUMENT . . . . . . . 517
A. Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
B. Refocus on Case Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
C. Develop a Theme of the Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
D. Use Analogies with Great Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
E. Deal With Your Adversary’s Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
F. Use Exhibits and Visual Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
G. Argue Any Important Facts That Support Your Case Theory Developed
During Your Cross-Examinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
Table of Contents
xxvi
H. Advocate Your Strengths Before Attacking Opponent’s Weaknesses . . . . 521
I. Be Selective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
J. Acknowledge Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
K. Show Honest, Appropriate Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
L. Consider Using Historical Quotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
M. Use Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
N. Place Opponent on the Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
O. Use Persuasive Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
P. Use Exaggeration and Understatement Sparingly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Q. Define the Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
R. Think of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
S. Length of Argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
T. Use Nonverbal Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
U. Physical Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
VI. GENERAL RESTRICTIONS ON CLOSING ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . 526
A. Do Not Misstate the Proper Purpose of the Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
B. Make Sure You Do Not Open the Door to the Admission of Precluded
Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
C. Do Not Misstate the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
D. Do Not Invite Jurors to Be in the Shoes of a Litigant or Victim of a
Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
E. Do Not Make Prejudicial Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
F. Do Not Offer Personal Knowledge of Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
G. Do Not State Personal Opinions as to the Credibility of Witnesses or the
Proper Outcome of the Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
VII. SAMPLE CLOSING ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Chapter 11 TRIAL ATTORNEYS’ KEYS TO SUCCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
I. STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
II. WINNING IS NOT EVERYTHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
III. SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
IV. WORK HARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
V. PREPARE WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
VI. PRACTICE, SEEK CRITIQUE, AND REFLECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
VII. BECOME AN EXPERT IN THE CASE’S SUBJECT MATTER . . . . . . . . 535
VIII. FOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
IX. BE A GREAT COMMUNICATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
X. KEEP IT SIMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
XI. ADVOCATE WITH FACTS, NOT ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS . . . . . 537
XII. STAY CALM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Table of Contents
xxvii
XIII. FIGHT THE FEAR OF FAILURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
XIV. BE YOURSELF, CONFIDENTLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
XV. COUNSEL WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
XVI. BE PROFESSIONAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
XVII. TREAT EVERYONE WELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
XVIII. MAINTAIN BALANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
XIX. STAY FIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
XX. LOVE WHAT YOU DO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1
Table of Contents
xxviii