Cross-Examination Wrecking Crew: Lack of Personal Knowledge

When the CONTENT of your cross-examination is the IMPEACHMENT of the witness rather than gathering concessions, the techniques you use to accomplish the impeachment are critical. 

This and following posts will offer great cross-examination demolitions—a veritable wrecking crew of impeachments. This is a list of the impeachment wrecking crew:

      1. Unreliability of the Observation

      2. Faulty Report

      3. Unbelievable Reporter

These are seven techniques for an effective impeachment of a witness with the wrecking crew: 

1. Assess the witness and adjust your approach;

2. Lock the witness into the testimony before you impeach;

3. Close all the exits to prevent the witness from escaping;

4. Establish a motive for the witness to prevaricate;

5. Paint a picture for the jury;

6. Surprise the witness; and

7. Use visuals or tangible evidence if possible.

For each wrecking-crew impeachment, you can observe how these techniques were applied

Let’s begin with Unreliability of the Observation. Here, the cross-examination is designed to show the witness LACKED PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE. For most of these demolitions, there is a corresponding rule of evidence. Here the rule is Rule 602, which reads in part:    “A witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter. . .” Naturally, My Cousin Vinny provides a nice illustration of this demolition. 

Let’s watch.

Look back at the list of seven techniques for impeachment. Vinny assessed the witness, determined the witness was honest but mistaken and adjusted his approach to the witness. Vinny painted a picture of how the witness’s vision was obscured. And Vinny used photographs to impeach.