Hostile witness rules of court8/27/2023 The judge may direct the jury to disregard an improper statement by a witness. If the witness goes beyond a direct answer to the question, the attorney asking the question may object. If the judge considers the question a proper one, he or she will overrule the objection and permit the witness to answer.Ī witness must answer a proper question, and is permitted to answer that question only. If the judge agrees that the question was improper, the judge will sustain the objection, and the witness is not permitted to answer. Objectionsĭuring the examination of a witness, an attorney may object if the attorney for the other side asks a question he or she thinks is improper under the rules. The witness is generally not permitted to say what someone else said happened, (the "hearsay" rule), because the witness doesn't know firsthand what happened, only what he or she was told. For instance, a witness generally may testify about things he/she knows first hand. Questioning of witnesses is conducted under rules designed to insure fairness to the parties. When cross-examination is completed, the attorney who called the witness may ask further questions to clarify points raised in cross-examination. Its purpose is to bring out additional information about the witness' testimony, or reliability, which may affect the juror's impressions or understanding of, or reliance on, what the witness testified to on direct examination. The attorney is permitted to cross-examine an adverse witness, just as if the other side had called that witness.Ĭross-examination is questioning of a witness by the attorney for the other side, after direct examination is completed. Such a witness is called an adverse witness or hostile witness. Sometimes the attorney may call the opposing party, or someone connected with the other side. The attorney who calls a witness will ask questions designed to bring out answers, which support the facts his/her side is trying to prove. Parties to a lawsuit are entitled to call witnesses to testify.
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