Keith Mitnik walks listeners through the strategies he uses to make the most of cross-examination and shares his belief that cross is not about winning the witness, but winning the race to a just verdict. He also teaches his four steps for a successful cross-examination:
- Gathering and sorting
- Returning to the big picture
- Putting it all together
- The process of cross itself
Over the course of the interview, Mitnik covers a variety of topics:
- How to organize your depositions for flexibility during cross
- Different types of cross for different types of witnesses
- What to do when the defense ends their direct on a really strong point
- When to disclose bad facts about the witness
- How to know when to stop
- How to avoid validating the other side’s points with your questions
- How to do a commonsense cross-examination
- When to start cross-examining an expert witness and how to get out in front of them
- Using a flip chart to keep track of big moments during cross
- How to keep an expert from mentioning something if you have a motion in limine to keep it out
- When you should voir dire a witness and how to do it effectively
- When to call the defendant and how to make that decision
- How to order witnesses
- How to overcome the objection that your cross exceeds the scope of the direct
- How to handle an expert witness who won’t just answer yes or no
- How to utilize a believability report card
- When to get a judge involved with a hostile witness
- How to use a defense witness’s own statements to support your case during cross
- How to use these concepts when arguing your case to a judge as opposed to a jury
- How to use the defense’s extensive stable of experts to your advantage
Keith Mitnik shares tried and true ideas he’s earned from years of experience, and hundreds of trials, to help you become more effective when cross-examining the witnesses in your case.
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*This interview was originally offered to customers as part of our Trial Guides LIVE Fireside Chat series. The content has been remastered and edited for brevity and clarity.
