by Ahmad Schuppe II
Published 3 years ago
Updated 2 years ago
When a witness is declared as hostile, he is being accused of contradicting his pre-trial statement while on the witness stand. When an attorney suspects a witness of being hostile, he makes an application to the judge, absent the jury, asking the judge to treat the witness as hostile. If the judge agrees, then the jury is made aware that the witness has made a statement that significantly differed from, or contradicted, the one he had made previously.
A hostile witness is a witness that you call who ends up becoming "hostile" to your cause. If this is the case, a court may deem the witness hostile and you will have to update your strategy on how to handle the witness. Otherwise, your questioning could lead to unwanted answers that seriously damage your case.Aug 16, 2012
What is the effect of declaring a witness hostile?
Allowing the witness to be designated hostile allows the lawyer to then ask LEADING questions. A leading question calls for a "yes" or "no" answer. The direct examination then proceeds in a leading manner (as if the witness is being cross-examined).
What constitutes a hostile witness?
A witness who testifies against the party who has called the person to testify. The examiner may ask a hostile witness leading questions, as in cross-examination. Also called an adverse witness.
How do you deal with a hostile witness?
A hostile witness is a witness that you call who ends up becoming "hostile" to your cause....3 Ways to Handle a Hostile WitnessAsk Leading Questions. Unlike questioning of friendly witnesses, you are allowed to ask leading questions of hostile witnesses. ... Limit the Scope Testimony. ... Impeach.
Who can declare a witness hostile?
The court has to declare the witness as a hostile one. It is not the option of the party calling the witness to do so. The adverse reference by the witness towards the person who calls him is a manner which helps the court to uphold or reject the statement of witness if crucial to a case and the trial.
Types
A witness is referred to as a hostile witness if he refuses to tell the truth in a court of law after having previously sworn that he would; or if he is open against the party who called him as a witness. The side that calls the witness, be it the prosecution or the defense, believes the witness will provide similar evidence to the court that was provided in his pretrial statement. If the witne…
A hostile witness is someone who appears to be refusing to tell the truth in a court of law or one who, by his actions or statements, is contrary to the party who called him. Witnesses provide what are known as pre-trial statements, which are statements that essentially sum up the relevance of that witness to that particular case. Included in the statement are the facts and evidence that a …
If a judge decides that the witness on the stand is acting as a hostile witness, the attorney who called that witness may be given permission to pose questions as though he were cross-examining the witness. The attorney can ask the witness leading questions to get him to say what the attorney wants him to say. The attorney can also cross-examine hi...
If the witness agrees that a contradiction has been made, then the judge instructs the jury to disregard his testimony, and the witness is discredited. If, however, he continues to deny a contradiction, then his statement is read into evidence. This means that his statement is read to the jury as proof of the fact that he had made a contradictory statement. Once the statement is r…
Attorneys are prohibited by the rules of evidence from asking their own witnesses leading questions. A leading question is one that coaches a witness by guiding him toward the answer the attorney wants him to give. In other words, leading questions spoon feed the witness by putting words into his mouth. Consider the following example: At a trial in a matter concerning a car acc…
Clark, who had called Kaelin as a witness for the prosecution, believed Kaelin was being evasive during his testimony, and so she asked Judge Ito to declare him a hostile witness. This was so that Clark proceed with leading questions that are usually reserved for cross-examination. Both Clark and Robert Shapiro, one of Simpsons defense attorneys, then pulled and prodded at Kaeli…
One of the leading questions that Clark posed to him was about a small black knapsack Kaelin had seen near Simpsons Bentley, shortly before Simpson left for a trip to Chicago on the day of the murders. Shapiro suggested the bag was filled with golf balls. Clark instead offered an alternative in the form of leading questions: Now, that knapsack, was it big enough to hold a knif…
Shapiro noticed that Kaelin was intimidated by Clark, and he decided to exploit this in the hopes of inspiring resentment of her in the jury. He did this by badgering him with leading questions: Are you afraid of Ms. Clark? Does she scare you? Does she make you uncomfortable? Do you think shes given you the opportunity to do your best and to be fair? Does she intimidate you at all? Ka…
22 hours ago
· In this manner, what is the effect of declaring a witness hostile? The court has to declare the witness as a hostile one. It is not the option of the party calling the witness to do so. The adverse reference by the witness towards the person who calls him is a manner which helps the court to uphold or reject the statement of witness if crucial to a case and the trial. What …
20 hours ago
· What happens to a hostile witness? When a lawyer asks to treat a witness as hostile they are asking the Judge for permission to question the witness in a certain way. If that happens, the lawyer can ask the judge for 'permission to treat the witness as hostile. ' If the judge agrees, the lawyer can then ask leading questions.
16 hours ago
· A witness turning hostile is either due to allurement or threats to witnesses. Commonly, threats play a vital part in forcing a witness to retreat from his statements. This is also reflects our criminal justice system and how it treats victims and witnesses. Sympathetic attitude towards accused.
26 hours ago
· The witness is required to restate in the court, what he stated during investigation. However he may not do so or may also deny having ever made such statement. If it is clear that the witness had turned hostile, the prosecution can pray that the witness has turned hostile and get the permission to cross-examine him.
6 hours ago
· A witness turning hostile need not always signify payoffs. There could be fear, threats or other reasons attached. If the law is to be amended, many Mumbaiites are of the opinion that a Witness ...
6 hours ago
· Under Section 9(1) of The Criminal Evidence Act, if a witness turns hostile, an application is to be made and there shouldn’t be the presence of the jury as a voir dire. This section also obligates the counsel to clarify the situations at the time of statement being made, including the details of the occasion it was made, and also verify with the witness if the …
36 hours ago
· It means that the witness you call to testify is not on your side, i.e., is 'hostile' to your client's position. Nevertheless, you want to call that witness to testify in your case (in which you're trying to prove your case, not disprove the other side's) for other reasons, i.e., to fill in some facts that need to be stated for you to satisfy your burden of putting into evidence all of the …
3 hours ago
As long as prosecution witnesses continue to turn hostile justice will always suffer and thus people's faith in efficacy and credibility of judicial process will be shattered. Our judicial system has become bunged and its fluency has ended. So in order to remove these obstacles and maintain the fluency we need to do something revolutionary.
24 hours ago
· When witnesses turn hostile, this can also lead to the breakdown of an entire case. It has even been speculated by former CJI YK Sabharwal, various police officials and the Ministry for …
