Questioning Witnesses (From Psychology of Evidence and Trial Procedure, P 253-279, 1985, Saul M Kassin and Lawrence S Wrightsman, eds. - See NCJ-99863)

• NCJ Number: 99872
• Author(s): E F Loftus; J Goodman
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 27 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

An analysis of the psychological research regarding the questioning of witnesses concludes that trial lawyers could benefit from examining the empirical evidence, which provides more sophisticated guidance than is usually provided in the legal literature.

Abstract

The empirical work indicating that the evidence rather than extralegal factors is the basis for jury decisions has underscored the importance of direct and cross-examinations of witnesses. Discussions and research on questioning techniques have focused on the issues of accuracy, completeness, and credibility. Research has focused on witness preparation, language variations, speech patterns, the formulation of questions, primacy and recency effects, and other issues. In direct examination, attorneys are advised to seek detailed and vivid descriptions, use loopback questions, reveal unpleasant facts on direct examination, have the witness identify the suspect early, and present potential rebuttal arguments in the direct examination. Commonly recommended cross-examination techniques are the use of leading questions, phrasing questions to obtain agreement, and getting witnesses to say often that they do not recall an event. For some of these techniques, empirical support exists; for others, the literature is silent. However, the common advice is usually extremely simplistic. Examining the research literature would enable lawyers to use this advice more effectively. 1 note and 73 references.