Witness Workshop
Witness Workshop
Material Needed: Have Witnesses bring their notebooks an completed witness profiles, extra blank witness profiles for those who have not filed them out or forget theirs, computer to show videos, and copy of the exhibits to practice with.
Part I: Introduction
- Check in:
- How are you doing in terms of witness preparation?
- Are there specific subjects you want this workshop to address (list and make sure they are all dealt with bu the end of the workshop).
- Warm up: Pair Share Exercise
- Witnesses get together in pairs
- Take turns telling your partner the following:
- What witness you are playing:
- Giving a brief summary of that witness’ testimony
- Your thoughts on how you are going to make that witness believable and leave an impression with the jury.
- Group discussion: Differences lay and expert witnesses
- What are your goals as a witness?
- Get out the key facts
- Be believable (even with facts that hurt your side)
- Leave an impression
- Win the ballot of the judge in the jury who is evaluating witnesses
- What will lay and expert witness do differently to achieve these goals?
- Discuss again the differences between Lay and Expert witnesses
- Discuss how they will act differently
- Lay Witnesses:
- Ordinary persons who testify based upon their personal knowledge and life experiences
- Can be more emotional
- Have a greater range of ways they can play their character
- Do not have to be advocates
- May or may not be professionals
- Expert Witnesses
- Persons who testify based upon their qualifications of expertise in their field
- Are professional
- Do not show as much emotions
- Have a narrow range of how they can play their character
- Generally maintain a confident controlled demeanor
- Are in more of an advocate type role and can argue for their conclusions.
- Blended Witnesses
- Lay witness who also have expertise in their field
- Includes people like police officers, accountants and doctors who have personal knowledge of the events that lead to the litigation
- They may or may not be also designated as experts
- The way they act can be a blend of both types of witnesses
- Lay Witnesses:
- What are your goals as a witness?
Part II: Acting as Reacting
- Complete witness profiles (Take a few minutes to do if they are not already completed)
- Form a circle
- Review each profile with everyone and get their input
- Talk about what each witness plans to wear – make adjustments as necessary
Watch acting as Re-acting
Discuss the video:
- What is the difference between acting and re-acting
- How might you get into character before the round?
- How might you stay in character during the round?
- What might you do during the testimony to stay in character?
Watch Excerpt from "A Few Good Men"
Discuss the video:
- What is Jack Nicholson do well?
- Do you think he was acting or re-acting when he played this role?
- Why or why not?
- How can you tell?
- Would it be appropriate to act like this in Mock Trial? Why or why not?
- If acted in a convincing matter, do you think admitting a point that may your case could still help your overall score on the judged ballot? Why or why not?l
Exercise: Meet and Greet while Staying in Character
- Allow 20 minutes for the exercise
- Purpose is to give the witnesses a sense of what is it to be in character and re-act instead of acting by simply saying memorized lines
- Lay witnesses get together
- Pretend they are at a party
- Do not discuss what happened in the case
- Talk about other things, such as what they are interested in, what they are doing with their lives.
- Stay in character the entire time
- It is ok to be mad at each other but don’t be overt about it
- Expert Witnesses get together
- Imagine they are at a convention
- Police officers would be with this group
- Do not talk about what happened in the case
- It is ok to talk about their background, wheat they are interested in, what they are doing with their lives and what they are doing
- Stay in character the entire time
- Stay professional.
Break and Snacks
Part III: Swearing in and Posture - Taking Charge
- Set up the room as it it were a courtroom with a witness stand and an area for the jury.
- How to be sworn in
- You acting starts here
- This is the first impression the jury will have of you
- Communicate your witnesses character by posture and voice
- Be consistent with your witness profile – is your witness confident, cocky, vulnerable, scared, nervous and so forth.
- Do not take the stand while being sworn in – as you take the stand and position yourself continue to act. Look at the jury and make eye contact when you say your name. Start developing raptor with them from the start.
- Once by one practice being sworn in while staying in character. Coach swears witnesses in and the rest of the group acts as the jury. Get input from the group.
- What posture you should have while testifying.
- Your default stance is the Court Reporter’s position.
- The reason for this default stance is:
- It helps you stay focused
- Lean back gives up control and seems too relaxed for a court of law
- Leaning forward can seem too aggressive to de-emphasize a point
- Demonstrate
- Back upright
- Hands clasped in front
- Look at attorney and jury.
- Deviate from this stance when appropriate but always return there.
- Leaning back at times can:
- De-emphasize a point
- Make witness seem picked on during cross if attorney is too close or loud
- Hake witness seem cocky
- Leaning forward at times can:
- Assume control and appear aggressive
- Assert a point
- Show strong disagreement if that is the character of your witness
- Break into pairs and practice posture
- One person is the witness and is seated in reporter stance
- The other person stand up and asks them general questions
- Coach says when to move back on next few questions
- Coach says when to move forward on next few questions.
- Reverse roles
- De-brief as a group
- How did the various positions feel?
- Are there certain parts of your testimony when you might want to deviate from the default report’s stance?
Part IV: Direct and Cross Examinations
Direct Examination Practice
- Tell your story
- Make eye contact with the jury
- Stay in character through voice, posture, and gestures, whatever your role.
- Don’t rush your testimony.
- Pause a few second between the question and the answer – counting to three (one, two, three) is a good guide.
- Silence and pauses while giving testimony can create dramatic effect, for example, perhaps this is a particularly emotional subject.
- Have some planned responses to anticipated re-direct questions your attorney may ask. Look at the jurors when giving these answers. This is the last impression you will leave them with.
- As you leave the stand continue to act all the way back to your seat. Stay in character for the rest of the trial.
- Practice
- Break into groups of three three
- Designate a witness, attorney and juror
- Witness is seated, attorney is standing, juror is seated
- Practice cross examination using these techniques
- Switch roles until everyone is done being a witness.
Break and Snacks
How to Stay in Control during Cross Examination
Preliminary Discussion
- What does the opposing attorney want to accomplish in cross examination (Make a list on the board)
- What do you want to accomplish? (make a list on the board)
- Any ideas how to accomplish what you want? (Make a third list)
Tips for Cross Examination – practice each one briefly as you go
- Consciously use eye contact
- Look at cross examining attorney if something hurts you
- Look at the jury if something helps you or is not very important
- Be polite and curious
- Try not to appear confrontational unless you want to play your character that way.
- Being confrontational can come off like you are not telling the truth or hiding something.
- Slow down
- You control the pace not the attorney doing cross examination
- Pause between the question and your answer – counting to three before answering is a good rule.
- Use your voice
- How you say “yes” or “no” can effect how it is perceived and the weight the jury gives to it.
- Example: You smoked marijuana in high school didn’t you. “Yes” (delivered in a nonchalant way with a shoulder shrug)
- Don’t guess or speculate
- If you don’t recall the answer to something say you don’t remember
- If they ask you to speculate say you don’t know
- If you need to qualify a question, try to do it before you answer yes or no
- Example: “His voice was very soft, but I did hear some of what he said, yes”
- If you answer “Yes . . . ” the attorney is more likely to cut you off.
- Playing the time game
- Unlike a real trial, the cross examining attorney has a limited amount of time to ask questions in
- Some witnesses do this to test the other attorney and even to the point of being seeming obnoxious.
- Judges differ on how they treat this. Some may think it is all fair play in a Mock Trial other’s may thing the witness is moving away from their role as a tree witness to take advantage of the Mock Trial Rules
- Ways to mix it up (make points and use time)
- If you are asked an open ended question give a longer answer
- If you are handed an exhibit take a few moments to review it.
- Try to qualify your answer when needed.
- If your are being impeached, asked to see your prior statement. Take a few seconds to read it to put it into context before you answer.
- On minor points answer the question by repeating a portion of the question itself
- Example: “It was a little before nine, yes”
- Do not overuse this technique or it will be obvious what you are doing.
- Do not use this technique for points that hurt your case as it gives undue emphasis.
Group Practice: bringing it all together
- One by one the witnesses take the stand
- Remaining witnesses are in the jury box
- Give witness 30 seconds to get into role.
- Coach jumps right into cross
- Helps to have the cross examination questions that have actually bee drafted
- Practice the techniques discussed, starting and stopping as needed
- Everyone gets a chance to be a witness
Part V: A Few Lose Ends
- How do you deal with objections?
- Stop talking until the judge rules
- If the objection is sustained to not answer
- If the objection is overruled, the direct attorney should repeat the quesiton. If they do not and you need the quesiton repeated ask “Could you please repeat the question.”
- How do you deal exhibits?
- When first shown the exhibit identify it but do no talk about it’s contents
- If it is admitted then you can talk about it and even read from it if you want.
- How do you win the witness ballot ballot of the judge in the jury box?
Ballot for Witnesses
- There are three ballots in a round and that one of the ballots is for the witnesses
- Since this is a competition their goal is to capture this ballot
- Take a few minutes and have witnesses read this ballot
- Put yourself in the judge’s role:
- What things would you be looking for? (generate a list on the board)
- Of the items listed, how would you rank them. (rank in order of importance)
- If two teams had equally good witnesses how would you decide who to award the ballot to.
VI: Wrapping it Up
- Answer any unanswered questions
- Give words of encouragement
- End with a fun team building exercise