“But a difficult witness like that actually is a gift. After you learn how to handle him, almost every evasive, argumentative witness the other side throws at you is an opportunity to make your case stronger than it was before.”
I started taking notes right away. Here they are:
To begin with, why are you cross-examining the witness in the first place?
The point of cross is not to get information from the witness. The point of cross is not to get the witness to change his story. And most of the time, the point of cross is not to destroy the witness with contradictions and clever impeachment.
The point of cross is to let you—the lawyer—tell your side of the case so the witness has to agree that what you say is true.
The rules are designed to let you do it. You get to ask leading questions. You get to pick and choose what you want to talk about. And you get to do it in whatever order you want. For practical purposes, you are the witness when you conduct cross-examination—just as you are the witness during jury voir dire, your opening statement and final arguments.
And since you are the real witness, your credibility is the key. Can the judge and jury trust what you say? Rely on your witnesses? Believe in your arguments? Think of you as the guide they can trust to lead them through the thicket of facts and law?
The answers to those questions had better be yes, or your case is in trouble.
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