Browsed by
Month: November 2018

THE BENEFITS OF BEING THE REAL YOU IN TRIAL

THE BENEFITS OF BEING THE REAL YOU IN TRIAL

The topic is inspired by my reading of a trial transcript involving a plaintiff’s lawyer who clearly is continually thinking about themselves and not the jury. Being self centered is counterproductive and appearances are not deceiving when we are talking about jurors. We need to remind ourselves as plaintiff trial lawyers, that the decision about our case will be made by the jurors and that decision will be based upon their impression. Greatly influencing that impression will be us. Jurors…

Read More Read More

HOW TO PREPARE DIRECT WITNESS EXAMINATION

HOW TO PREPARE DIRECT WITNESS EXAMINATION

Examining witnesses looks easy on television and in the movies. Whether direct or cross examination, on television & the movies, it is always brief, entertaining and totally successful. It always looks so easy, until you do it in a court room with a real live witness. Your well-planned cross examination can unexpectedly not be the examination you had in mind when you started. Direct examination can be as much a challenge as well. That’s the real world for trial lawyers…

Read More Read More

CROSS EXAMINATION THOUGHTS WORTH CONSIDERING

CROSS EXAMINATION THOUGHTS WORTH CONSIDERING

While a lot has been written about the subject of cross-examination, it is a difficult subject that deserves our attention. Here are some observations that are not particularly original nor profound, but perhaps worth considering when preparing for cross examination. In April 1988 the United press published an article about a skydiver in Lewisburg, North Carolina who died while parachuting. The article said: “A veteran sky diver, who fell 10,500 feet to his death, apparently forgot to wear a parachute in his excitement to film other skydivers,…

Read More Read More