Dealing with obnoxious witnesses

Witnesses sometimes yell at lawyers, speak over them, or give nonresponsive speeches.?That is incredibly frustrating.?But don’t yield to any impulse to be rude.?It’ll fall flat with the jury and rarely leads to you eliciting helpful testimony.??

I’ve never seen jurors react favorably to lawyers getting visibly angry with witnesses.?Instead, jurors expect the lawyers to be in control.?You're not an automaton.?But this is your home turf.?You should maintain decorum and know how to keep this train moving.?So what are the better alternatives?

First is the same as any witness—be prepared.?Know the deposition transcript and trial exhibits.?When the witness dodges, show the jury.?Juries don’t want time wasted.?Someone dancing around whether he/she sent an email, made a statement, or was at the scene annoys them.?They’ll appreciate you reining in the witness.?The facts are the reins you use.

“That isn’t terribly enlightening advice, Smith.?What about the witness who isn’t lying but is just a jerk?”?That is when you really need to master your emotions and control the courtroom.?The first time the witness does it, try something like, “Mr. Smith, you may have misunderstood my question.?Please focus on my questions and answer them.?It’ll make things move more quickly.”?Look at the jury when you say that last part.?[“We’re all in this together.?I’m trying!”]

Same thing happens later.?The witness launches into a speech, gets aggressive, etc.?“Mr. Smith, I have limited time to share evidence with this jury.?Please limit your answers to ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘I can’t answer it yes or no.’?If opposing counsel wants to ask different questions, then he/she will have that chance.?If you answer my questions, it’ll get the information to the jury more quickly.”?You know where you’re looking for that last part.?[Don’t forget to move to strike the nonresponsive answer.]?

The witness does it again.?Now you’re quite firm, but sill in control.?“Your Honor, I move to strike the answer and ask that you instruct the witness to answer my questions with yes, no, or I can’t answer that yes or no.?The witness’ speeches are inappropriate.”?Remember, judges are trial lawyers.?We also loathe wasting jurors’ time.?I’ll pointedly instruct a witness if he/she is misbehaving.?If we’re using a timer to manage each side’s time, don’t hesitate to ask the judge to reallocate time to you!?[If the witness’ unsolicited speech is sufficiently prejudicial, you may need to move for a mistrial, too.]??

Virtual slugfests and shouting matches work on reality TV.?They don’t in court.?Jurors expect better from the lawyers.?They also dislike witnesses who waste time, belittle others, and such.?Try to take the approach (figuratively), “I’m with you, jury.?We’re rowing in the same direction, but this guy isn’t.?Don’t worry—I’ll get us where we need to be.”?Calm, cool, collected.?When you get home, then you can hit the heavy bag or scream into a pillow about the jerk.???