Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

Good cross examination usually begins, not at trial, but with discovery.   This is particularly true in connection with depositions. Much of our cross examination resource involves our depositions. The mistake most lawyers make is that they are not thinking about the jury when they are deposing a witness, they are thinking about motions and the witness. Lawyers tend to think that the witness is the audience but in fact the real audience is a jury which has not yet been…

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Have you thought about what the possible objectives are in cross examination? Often times we have not thought out the possible avenues we could take in cross examining a witness. Here for example are some of the objectives one might have in cross examination: To establish the witness is not telling the truth on one or more material points. To show that the witness is biased and has a motive for coloring the testimony. To show that the testimony is improbable….

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Today I’m sharing an excerpt of my cross examination of one of the medical experts the defense called in my last trial. I am sorry the format is not perfect, but transferring it from the transcript to here was a problem. The reason I am showing you this is because it is an example of what I would call a “soft cross examination” of a defense expert on a collateral attack. The point is to demonstrate his bias and lack…

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