From the standpoint of keeping a forensic witness under control, the examiner's goal is to "keep the witness on a short leash." Questions are framed that require "yes" and "no" answers and that do not give the witness an opportunity to expand or explain. The aggressive forensic witness who attempts to explain on simple yes/no questions is likely to receive an admonition from the court to "just answer the question."

A favorite cross-examining technique is to establish an inconsistency in testimony from the witness that arises from a prior writing or testimony of the witness to a contrary position.

Witnesses can be impeached with prior writings from a testimonial experience in other cases, articles they have written, chapters or entire books they have authored, or teaching materials that have been used to conduct seminars, workshops and other lectures. The embarrassment to the forensic witness who is unfamiliar with prior writings is magnified by the devastation such prior inconsistent writings do to a bit of testimony to the contrary.

Back Forward