Mock trial blog

O.k. So you are up on the witness stand, and you are being cross-examined, and you are getting beat up by the lawyer from the other school. Not fun. To make matter’s worse, the lawyer on your team is not objecting! What do you do?  Here are a couple of suggestions. (Note: these are tips for witnesses in MOCK trials, not real trials. If you are prepping for a real trial, back the heck off this page before you get yourself into trouble.)

1. Don’t let the lawyer interrupt you. When you are answering a questions don’t let the lawyer jump you with another question if you are mid-sentence. Just talk over the lawyer. This will force him to stop, or it will force the judge to stop the both of you.  But either way, you have shown that you are assertive enough not to get interrupted mid-sentence. If the judge looks at you like its your fault, just look innocent and say, “I am sorry your honor” and smile at the attorney.
2. Critique his question. This sort of thing really throws off lawyers when they are being bullies.  Say something like: “Can you rephrase the question?” “Can you repeat the question?” “I don’t understand the question.” “That questions is pretty vague.” If the question is really over the top, you can ask: “Is that a serious question?”
3. Ask for a moment. Repeat the question back and say “Let me think about that for a moment. Hmmm. No.” When you are being peppered with questions, sometime you just need a second to collect your thoughts.  Example:
   Q: Was it raining that day?
   A: Was it raining that day? (Question repeated back)
   Q: Uh, yeah.
   A: Let me think about that for a second. Hmmm.  I believe so. Yes, it was raining that day.
   You see what you are doing here? You just took control of the tempo. A lot of what frazzles the witness is sense that things are being rushed and they don’t have time to think. When the lawyer on your team is objecting (even unsuccessfully), she is at least giving you time to think and collect yourself. But as we discussed, sometimes lawyers are asleep at the wheel, and these tips are about how to protect yourself.
4. Don’t always let yourself be forced to answer “yes” or “no”.  Sometimes, an attorney will ask you a question, and then will say “yes or no”, or will say “just answer yes or no”. Normally, this is fine, just say “yes” or “no”.  But if the lawyer is just using this as a bullying tactic, maybe you don’t go along with it. At best, give the answer as “Yes, I believe so” or “I don’t think so” just to show the lawyer you won’t be pushed around. But if the judge directs you to answer the question in a yes or no format, then you most definitely better do so or risk losing some serious points.
5. Be assertive in your tone. Sometimes in high school mock trial competitions, I hear witnesses answer in upspeak. Upspeak is when you make a statement but you use the intonation of a question. Like the tone rises at the end. Don’t do this. If the situation calls on you to be emphatic, then be emphatic. If the lawyer asks an accusatory questions, don’t respond “no”, say “absolutely not”, or “of course not” and give him a puzzled look.Keep in mind that these are self-defense tactics. This isn’t an offensive strategy. This is for when the opposing counsel is showboating, being sarcastic (and getting laughter from the spectators). When a lawyer does this to you, these tips will help even the playing field. But again, don’t go overboard. A lawyer that acts mean will lose points. The same is true of a witness.