What is constructive cross-examination? What are the components of constructive cross-examination chapters? Larry Pozner explains.

This training program will aid those working to defend persons accused of homicide in drug-related overdose deaths. Each section of the program focuses on a different aspect of these cases. CLE is not available for this program.

Larry Pozner on cross-examination. Sponsored by NetReputation.com. 

Larry Pozner joins the NACDL Engage & Exchange Video Discussion Series for a second time to talk cross-examining experts.

Cross-Examination Part III with Larry Pozner

Larry Pozner joins us to discuss, engage, and exchange on all things cross examination. This is a supplement to the NACDL CLE Training, Pozner for Cross, available for purchase.

Defense counsel can put the heat on a law enforcement officer witness through a persistent and thorough examination. What will intimidate the officer most is being questioned about how he did his job. A careful examination of the officer’s conduct can soften the law enforcement witness into giving defense counsel details she never imagined she could get, or it can make the officer hostile and show him to be unprofessional and prejudiced against the client. Defense attorney Mary Stillinger includes examples from real cases to illustrate.

Some lawyers refuse to write their cross-examinations because they believe written crosses will stifle their creativity. Larry Pozner disagrees. “We win most of our cases through crosses we planned, not crosses we lucked into,” he says. “And a scripted chapter frees our mind to listen more closely to the answers and judge when an answer has provided a launching pad for additional areas of cross.” Pozner has yet to hear a valid reason chapters of cross should not be written.

What are negative questions? How can they cause confusion?

A witness seeking to evade will often answer with more than “I don’t know” because “I don’t know” implies “I am a bad witness.” Instead, the witness will often try to duck by inserting a reason he or she is not responsible for knowing the answers in that area.

How can defense counsel impeach witnesses when they exhibit behavior that is inconsistent with their stories?

Cross-examining children is a potential minefield because the cross-examiner must tread with care yet with a deliberate aim, all while maneuvering across a field that is unfairly stacked against the defense. Andres R. Guevara discusses the pitfalls and offers strategies for the successful cross-examination of a child.

“But” is a word that portends disappointment in some aspect of the prosecution’s case, and disappointment can lead to reasonable doubt.

Asymmetrical cross-examination uses chapters that do not perfectly align with the opponent’s chapters of direct examination.

Larry Pozner says he recently performed a cross-examination that he rates as meh. He describes it as “decent but lacking punch.” Pozner dissects the cross-examination and shares six lessons that he learned.