Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time

by Gerry Spence

Preparing the witness for cross-examination. The prospect of our opponent’s cross-examination can be frightening. Nothing protects the witness against fear and anger better than preparation. The witness who takes the stand becomes the target. In many ways his function is that of the soldier on the front line. If the opponent can kill him it brings the war that much closer to an end. We are still barbarians who use words instead of swords. The courtroom becomes an arena of human struggle. But, if we understand the nature of the trial, we can prepare ourselves and our witness to survive and prevail. Here is something we might say to Shirley, or even to a seasoned expert—perhaps especially to one of them. “You are going to testify. As you know, our opponent will likely try to attack your testimony in some way.” (Before we are finished with our preparation we’ll have subjected our witness to our own cross-examination.) Continuing, we might say, “When we are attacked, it naturally makes us afraid. When we’re afraid, we sometimes get hostile. We want to hit back. We strike back. We fight. It’s only natural to be angry. “If Attorney Jones can make you angry he will have won. Remember the three Cs of a good witness: It’s for you to remain courteous, calm, and considerate. The more hostile he gets, the more anger you see from him, the more you know you are winning, and the more courteous, calm, and considerate you become. Anger in the courtroom is the blood of the battle. I want it...