At least in fictional TV dramas of court cases, you often hear a lawyer demand “yes or no, did such-and-such happen?!?”. Of course, this is to hide the details and make the witness admit, on record, to something he/she does not want to.
Is it acceptable for a lawyer to demand HOW a witness answers a question? Or is it just up to the other laywer to raise the objection if such a demand is made?
Yes, it is. If the question is a “yes-or-no”, anything besides yes or no is unresponsive. Cross-examination is subject to special rules that allow lawyers to lead the witness (on the presumption that the witness is hostile, and wouldn’t volunteer damaging information.)
Sua
A good discussion of leading questions and hostile witnesses can be found here:
This brings up a good point that everyone who has ever had to testify in court has had drilled into them by their attorney: Answer the question that is being asked and then SHUT YOUR MOUTH REALLY, REALLY TIGHTLY. Your job, as the witness, is to answer the attorney’s question to the best of your ability, being truthful in your answer. If the attorney asks you a question that has a yes or no answer, give him a yes or no answer. Do not volunteer information that has not been asked of you. It is the opposing counsel’s job to illicit the information from you, make him earn his keep.
Typically, what Georgia judges will do is require the witness to answer “yes” or “no” to a yes-or-no question, but then will allow the witness to explain that answer.
The above comes courtesy of Federal Rule of Evidence 611©. Also, leading questions are generally permitted in direct examination of a child witness, or a witness with a communication disorder.
As has been discussed above, a leading question is simply one framed or presented so as to suggest a desired answer.
This answer the question suggested in the title of the thread. The OP itself asks about responsiveness of a witness to a yes-or-no question. A yes-or-no question is not necessarily a leading one.
Either side may object to a witness’ answer on the grounds of responsiveness, since the process of testimony is that the witness must meaningfully respond to the questions propounded by the lawyer. A witness is generally not permitted to answer a question the lawyer didn’t ask. This is prohibited for several reasons - evidentiary harpoons, for example, which is when a witness, unasked, supplies a highly prejudicial piece of testimony. Because the lawyer must ask each question before the witness answers it, the opposing side is given a chance to object to the question.
I would think that if it were to establish a fact along the lines of, did you, have you, was the accused wearing ? then it woud be a fair question but if it came round to opinion such as ‘Is it true that you dislike so and so’ it would be less acceptble.
Right. I’m not too familiar with court protocols & terminology (never been there myself and I’m not interested in TV dramas). Sorry about that.
To clarify, my OP mainly pertains to answering a question that is demanded to be “yes or no” when there is more to it then that (i.e., when the witness knows that “yes” or “no” would not be an accurate answer). I’m not limiting the discussion to cross-examinations.
Based on what spoke- said, it sounds like Georgia courts play it fair. But I also understand plnnr’s point about not rambling on the stand.
I’ve often wondered about this myself. It seems like many questions aren’t yes/no questions even though they are phrased as such.
Do you believe in UFOs?
Were you in love with her?
Is that why you drank 25 beers that night?
I always felt if I was a witness I would refuse to answer them in a yes/no manner. After all, I’ve sworn to tell the truth, THE WHOLE TRUTH, and nothing but the truth, and a yes/no answer isn’t the whole truth. To answer yes/no would effectively be perjury, so it seems pleading the fifth would be an option.
In actuality I’d meekly make my best stab at answering yes/no, but could I refuse to answer on these grounds?
If you are ever asked a question on the stand equivalent to “Won’t you be a good boy and eat your broccoli?” you can ask the judge to have the question split. The above is a compound question and the answer to each individual piece is actually independent of the other. “Yes, I’ll be a good boy.” “No, I won’t eat my broccoli.”
With that sort of question, the judge would doubtless allow you to stray from a strict “yes-or-no” reply, so long as your reply was responsive to the question.