From Patrick Malone, co-creator of the groundbreaking Rules of the Road™ trial technique, comes another important book: The Fearless Cross-Examiner. The current approach to cross-examination is dated, and in this book, Malone systematically demolishes these tired and restrictive ideas in favor of a more adaptable and effective approach.
The Fearless Cross-Examiner gives a detailed look at what it takes to conduct case-winning cross-examinations. Malone offers advice on the place of cross in successful case-building, how you can discredit dishonest witnesses without alienating the jury, and on how to combat the various problems you will encounter during cross-examinations. He also provides perspectives on how personal reflection and self-improvement can help your performance during cross.
Framed by the antiquated commandments of cross-examination and informed by the Rules of the Road™ method, The Fearless Cross-Examiner is a masterful guide to winning despite difficult adverse witnesses. This new method refuses to shy away from the stressful reality of cross in high-tension courtroom environments. Instead, it confronts this reality head-on through real-world trial excerpts and examples from America’s leading trial lawyers, including David Boies, Rick Friedman, F. Lee Bailey, and more. This book will allow lawyers of any experience level to gain confidence; improve their cross-examination techniques; and perform at their best in depositions, arbitrations, and trials.
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- Publisher's Note
- Introduction
- Part I: You, the Cross-Examiner
- Laying the Mental Foundation
- Freeing Yourself from the Ten Commandments of Cross
- Choosing the Weapons Right for You
- Part II: Building the Case with Cross-Examination
- Cross-Examination with Case-Building Rules
- Witness Self-Interest and Case-Building Cross
- Using Treatises to Get to Yes
- Part III: Tearing Down the Witness
- Planning: The Essential Weapon for Speed
- Cross-Examination with Witness Tear-Down Rules
- Fixing Contradictions Cross
- Exposing the Ignorant Witness
- Shooting It Out with the Hired-Gun Witness
- Polarizing the Extreme Witness
- Fundamental Attribution
- Mining for Dirt
- Part IV: Problems and Solutions
- Evidence Rules Every Cross-Examiner Must Know
- Calling the Adverse Party
- Technique Problems and Their Cures
- Controlling the Runaway Witness
- Part V: Bringing It Home
- Pulling Together What We’ve Learned
- Appendices
- Appendix A: Truisms and Rules
- Appendix B: Writing Better Rules for Cross-Examination
- Acknowledgments
- Sources
- Index
- About the Author
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