Law - an evaluation of cross examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law - an evaluation of louse up examination - Essay ExampleIn the case of witnesses in familiar offences cases, the prior sexual history of the complainant may not be allowed to be included in pass through examination, unless sit contains issues of substantive fact and significant value.The cross examination is conducted by the opposing counsel and in the case of experts, submitting themselves to a cross examination means that their reputation and credibility will be at stake.1 It is necessary that the responses provided are very accurate because a slight variation can be equated to a lie by a cross examining attorney through suggestion.2 Experts are often subjected to rigorous cross examination because the final outcome of a case in several instances may easing upon the testimony provided by the expert witness.Counsel use several tactics in order top elicit evidence from the witnesses through the process of cross examination. One such tactic is to read aloud a statement from a document and ask the witness if it is correct. If the witness agrees, then s/he is agreeing to the statement contents as well as the attorneys recitation of it.3 This can sometimes serve to allow the cross examining counsels perception of events to be thus recorded and may influence the final outcome of the case. While cross examination in general is very important, ii of the most contentious areas have been cross examinations on bad voice of defendants and cross examination of prior sexual offences, both of which are discussed below.When a complainant is being cross examined, the opposing attorney may not be allowed to include any questioning dealing with the prior character of the plaintiff, unless it is an issue of defamation.4 It is the complainant who adduces evidence rather than the defendant and the general rule established in law is that prior evidence on a persons character will be considered irrelevant and not allowed in