When done well, cross examination can look like magic. The examiner controls the witness and skillfully, step-by-step, leads the unwilling witness down a path that the witness doesn’t want to take, and the jury watches as major pieces of the witness’s story fall apart.
This guide on how to think, structure, and plan high-level cross examination is not intended to be a one-stop, how-to guide. There is always more to learn, another technique or trick to master. But no advanced technique, no bell or whistle, will help if the cross examiner does not have a firm foundation. This is an effort to establish the foundation for highlevel cross examination, the foundation from which everything else is possible. This is a guide for how to think about cross, an explanation of the components of a successful cross examination, and a map for how to plan for a successful examination. This guide can push you in the right direction. It can help you to think of cross properly, which will help your preparation and help you avoid mistakes. But these ideas can only be learned through practice. So read this guide, think through the principles, and then practice them. It is the only way.
To read the guide, written by Chris Arledge, Founder of Narrative Edge Trial Academy and Partner at Ellis George LLP, click to read: The Keys To High-Level Cross Examination: How to Think, Structure, and Plan
