Attorney at Law Regional Edition Inaugural : Page 29attorney maintains control of the testimony, and avoids the “runaway witness” syndrome! In addition, this keeps the interest of jurors and others because, out of curiosity, they want to know the answers to the questions. In addition, in witness preparation, we ask witnesses to answer a question in one or two sentences, a short paragraph at the most. Have witnesses visualize this in terms of size. They can then better translate this to their responses. Another approach is to ask witnesses to visualize the headlines and first few sentences of a newspaper article. This is where most readers focus. If important points are made in the middle of the article, they are often missed. Teach your witnesses to make their points quickly, up front, like newspaper articles. When asked a “yes” or “no” question, teach talkative witnesses to answer with an affirmative or negative response first if they can before providing an explanation. Otherwise, the explanation can not only be perceived as an excuse or evasive, but observers can lose interest by the time the question is actually answered. Of course if neither a “yes” or “no” response is correct, the witness needs to politely state this before providing an explanation. Lastly, videotape the witness in both a rambling state and a concise state so the witness can view the difference. If all else fails, show a videotape of the rambling witness to office staff or a focus group, get their feedback, and share this with the loquacious witness. This often provides the needed motivation for change! Jan Mills Spaeth, Ph.D. Jan Mills Spaeth,Ph.D.and Rosalind R.Greene, J.D., are litigation consultants with Advanced Jury Research, based in Tucson. They work in all aspects of trial consulting and have written extensively on legal issues. Working throughout the state and nationally, they assist with jury selection, witness preparation, case strategy and focus groups/mock trials. Dr. Spaeth has published DVDs on witness preparation with the American Bar Association, and has another set coming out this spring. They can Jan Mills Spaeth, Ph.D. Rosalind R. Greene, J.D. be reached at 480-753-3771 or 520-297-4131. AJR’s website is www.adjuryresearch.com. Rosalind R. Green, J.D. June 2012 Attorney at Law Magazine ® | 29 Publication List Using a screen reader? Click Here |
