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What is the key to effective cross examination?
What is the key to effective cross examination?
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00:04
my approach to cross-examination
00:06
i’ll tell you i learned it the hard way
00:10
it doesn’t take that long if you really
00:13
listen
00:14
and you really have a lot of experience
00:17
but you always get better at if you
00:19
listen and learn
00:21
the key to cross-examination is to
00:23
control the witness so that the witness
00:25
does not control you
00:27
i’ve even broken down the unresponsive
00:30
answers and this is what throws young
00:31
lawyers off
00:33
i’ve broken down unresponsive answers
00:36
into quibbles speeches
00:40
recasting your question mr berg you
00:42
don’t want to know the value of the
00:43
property you want to know the cost
00:45
no i asked you about the value mr
00:47
witness
00:49
and learning how to control witnesses
00:51
who do not answer your questions
00:53
directly
00:54
is a key to great cross the human mind
00:58
those jurors sitting over there the
00:59
judge need a direct answer
01:02
now you know when you ask your kid did
01:03
you do your homework
01:05
and he says well i brought home my book
01:08
you know you first of all you want to
01:09
kill him and secondly your kid is not
01:12
giving you a direct answer so you know
01:13
he’s not telling the truth
01:15
that’s the first thing you have to do to
01:17
me however
01:19
the most important thing that a trial
01:21
lawyer can do
01:23
is to keep a calm mind they did a study
01:26
back in the 60s of the great baseball
01:28
players
01:30
and they’ve tried to figure out why
01:32
mickey mantle and ted williams
01:34
and stan mutual why these guys were so
01:36
great
01:38
and a more modern example would be tiger
01:40
woods
01:41
and his zen-like focus
01:44
those guys those baseball players could
01:46
read the seams on the ball
01:48
is it a curveball is it going to be a
01:50
slider
01:51
is it just a a fastball so i always say
01:54
read the seams on the testimony
01:57
listen that’s what i learned from
01:58
racehorse sayings listen to the answer
02:01
and don’t get panicked all of us don’t
02:03
get me wrong have gotten an answer or
02:05
two that we didn’t see coming
02:08
you know on a panel once i asked for
02:10
puni selecting a jury i asked the panel
02:13
about punitive damages and this elderly
02:15
gentleman in the back said son
02:17
why do you need all that money well
02:21
well i’m greedy sir that do the answer i
02:23
mean everybody gets an answer the
02:25
way your medulla oblongata slips out
02:27
your ear
02:28
but just stay calm and there’s much more
02:31
to it
02:32
but go buy my book and you’ll see
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Houston, TX commercial litigation attorney David Berg talks about the key to effective cross examination?
