This is Part 2 of Death by a Thousands Cuts and follows closely with Episode 3. Its been said that in the prior episode, the witness’ testimony was “dead” after only 2 cuts rather than 1,000. In Part 2, the witness was cut repeatedly … over and over and over again.
A variation of Proverbs 18:17 reveals that he who speaks first seems right until another gets up to question him. This is so true of cross examination and is really brought to life in this episode. A witness for the state, so confident and sure of himself, proudly testified on direct examination about how he followed and observed Neil’s client turn into a car wash driveway and how the agent/officer turned down a nearby street, drove to the bottom of a hill, stopped in a driveway and kept a close on the participants the entire time. By the time he was done testifying on direct examination, he claimed he had been able to observe the accused and the others engage in criminal activity. It sure seemed powerful and compelling … until the cross examination.
Listen to how Neil, after visiting the scene, took apart the witness’ testimony. The witness fought with Neil on every question and answer, something that was not lost on the jury and Neil’s co-counsel. The more he fought, the more we knew that we had revealed the truth. Killer Cross Examination works when applied just right.
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