BOOK REVIEW: WINNING AT CROSS-EXAMINATION

Shane Read never disappoints his readers, and this is certainly true with his book Winning at Cross-Examination: A Modern Approach for Depositions and Trials. As someone who has written a book on cross-examination—Cross-Examination Handbook: Persuasion, Strategies, and Techniques, perhaps I should be jealous and critical. I’m not and won’t be. His book is splendid, proving that you can never write enough about activity that demands thorough preparation and has accurately been described as involving both science and art.

I must admit that I am a fan of Read’s books,  having reviewed his book Turning Points at Trial: Great Lawyers Share Secrets, Strategies and Skills, which is on a par with his prior award-winning books Winning at Deposition and Winning at Trial.

The book is divided into three parts as follows: (1) cross-examination skills and strategies; (2) skilled trial lawyers, Tom Girardi and Mark Lanier, reflect on crosses in their notable trials; and (3) discussions of cross-examinations in the O.J. Simpson and George Zimmerman trials. Also, in part 3 is a stage reading on Broadway of a cross-examination in the case against 8, which was the challenge to the California proposition that marriage is only between a man and a woman. You can watch that here.

Shane Read has collected other videos of effective cross-examinations that are on his website www.winningatcross.com  You need only enter the password that is on the last page of the index in the book.

Read believes, as I do, that the best way to learn how to be an effective cross-examiner is to watch a skilled trial lawyer at work. Ideally this would be by second chairing a case with that lawyer. A secondary way is to read transcripts and watch videos of good trial lawyers doing cross-examinations. Sections (2) and (3) are designed to help the reader accomplish this goal. As Picasso said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

One grand feature of the book is its marginalia. They include these boxes in the margin: Chapter Road Maps; Practice Tips; and Quotations (Mark Twain’s “An expert is a person hired to divorce yourself from your common sense.). Also nice are the checklists at the end of the chapters.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you as a book that you should add to your library along with Cross-Examination Handbook.

TURNING POINTS AT TRIAL AND CROSS-EXAMINATION: A BOOK REVIEW

Shane Read has done it again; he has written another must-read book for lawyers and law students. Read’s latest book is Turning Points at Trial: Great Lawyers ShareSecrets, Strategies and Skills. This new work is on a par with his prior award winning books Winning at Deposition and Winning at Trial.

        Turning Points at Trial delivers exceptional trial strategies and techniques regarding cross-examination along with other phases of trial. Shane Read recruited superb trial lawyers to help with his project and set about interviewing them. Each of those talented lawyers was asked to share the trial skills that turned the trial in their client’s favor. Read gathered transcripts from these lawyers and included excerpts from those transcripts in the book to illustrate the particular trial skills under discussion. Also, Read wanted the ideas in the book to stick with the reader, and this determined which cases he included in his book. Read expressed it this way: “Learning trial skills from great lawyers in the context of these fascinating cases makes them easier to learn and more memorable.”

        Here is an example of how turning points in trial are discussed in the book. Chapter 8 Wage Guerrilla Warfare with the Expert”, which is in the part of the book dedicated to cross-examination “begins with an introduction to the trial lawyer and the case that will be used to illustrate the trial techniques covered in the chapter. The attorney is Robert S. Bennett, whom Read describes as “one of the country’s finest criminal defense attorneys and crisis management lawyers for corporations.” Following a description of Bennett’s background and the prominent clients he has represented, the chapter provides a synopsis of Zapruder v. United States, the case involving an arbitration of the government’s dispute with Zapruder over the appraisal of the film showing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Next, Read lays out Bennett’s strategies and techniques including: setting up cross-examination in opening statement and cross-examination principles, such as narrowing cross to one or two points – “less is more”, looking for ways to make the expert look weak or not knowledgeable, and how to use the pitch of your voice when asking a question to indicate doubt or demand an agreement. For the rest of the chapter, Read employs excerpts from the transcript of the Zapruder trial to illustrate the strategies and techniques already discussed plus others. Finally, the chapter concludes with a “Chapter Checklist” summarizing: Bennett’s trial strategies; Bennett’s tips for cross-examination; Bennett’s strategies for cross-examination of expert witnesses; Bennett’s insights for hiring expert witnesses; Summary of cross of Macauley (the government’s appraisal expert); Summary of the cross-examination of Staszyn (another government appraisal expert), and Bennett’s advice for closing argument. Read’s utilizes this approach for each chapter and it is both thorough and engaging.

        In addition to covering every aspect of trial work, Turning Points for good measure has chapters on “Depositions” and “Appellate Oral Argument.” Turning Points is Shane Read’s latest engaging masterpiece on trial and appellate advocacy. Those chapters in the book that are devoted to cross-examination are excellent.