I have to testify in front of a jury.. ..anyone else had to do this?

[se7en]

So I gotta go up on the stand not for me but for someone I know. Anyone ever had to appear in court and testify in front of a jury? Am I going to die of boredom? I guess I can't bring my mp3 player.. ..sux!

Any tips or ideas? I hear the lawyer guy on the other side is a big fvck and they said there's a 95% chance he will make it a point to piss me off. I've got the cleanest background of the people testifying so may single me out (hope they dont look too deep).

Any advice?

 

[bleeb]

the truth?

 

[PingSpike]

When in doubt say nothing, or just repeat what you just said. It should be pretty easy to detach yourself from his aggressive style if you know what he's doing.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: se7en
So I gotta go up on the stand not for me but for someone I know. Anyone ever had to appear in court and testify in front of a jury? Am I going to die of boredom? I guess I can't bring my mp3 player.. ..sux!

Any tips or ideas? I hear the lawyer guy on the other side is a big fvck and they said there's a 95% chance he will make it a point to piss me off. I've got the cleanest background of the people testifying so may single me out (hope they dont look too deep).

Any advice?

what is it regarding?

 

[EGGO]

Testifying as a witness? Can't the other lawyer say, "Objection on grounds of harrassing the witness?"

 

[nakedfrog]

Answer only exactly what was asked, don't volunteer info. Well, I guess it depends on why you're testifying.

 

[CRXican]

all you have to do is tell the truth.

is it that difficult?

 

[se7en]

its for an accident that happened 3.5 years ago (or close to) and my part requires me to state the condition of the person that I knew back in HS. We're talking 7-8 years ago and a person that I knew but we were never really best friends or anything.Going to tell what limited info I can remember and not going to make stuff up but the 5.0 spooks me much less have to do something like this .. yuck.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: CRXican
all you have to do is tell the truth.

is it that difficult?

There's your answer.

 

[Nitemare]

<Mafia voice>Just remember what we talked about before the trial and nobody gets hurt


I'd hate to have ta brakey da legs...

 

[markgm]

The secret is to stick to your guns and just keep repeating what you already said. Be a Cardassian I think it is, never volunteer anything.

Did you see the murder take place?
Incorrect: Yes, there were 4 people running around and...
Correct: Yes.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I have testified in court (not to mention spending hundreds of hours in court as an attorney), and don't see it as a big deal (unless you're a crime victim or the case has great emotional weight for whatever reason).

- Don't get angry, even if the opposing attorney tries to bring that out in you.

- Don't be sarcastic or snide.

- Don't answer a question meant to confuse you. If you don't understand the question, say so, and the attorney will have to rephrase it (looking like a jerk to the jury in the process).

- Tell the truth, even if that means admitting you don't know or can't remember some detail your side's lawyer wants from you.

You'll be fine.

 

[Kelemvor]

Exactly what DonVito said.

And if they ask you a question and say "Yes or No only" but answering yes or no would not actualy portray the whole truth... Say that you cannot give the WHole Truth with just a Yes or No answer. And since you swore to "Tell the Truth, the WHole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth" you can't answer with a Yes or No.

I had it when they try crap like that.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

look up some complicated words in the dictionary to confuse the stenographer into typos

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
look up some complicated words in the dictionary to confuse the stenographer into typos

Ala Damon Wayans as the self educated convict in "In Living Color"

 

[DrPizza]

During questioning for jury duty, I made the other lawyer out to look like an idiot for some of his questions... I restated his questions in a way that they could be interpretted. "are you asking that..."

The place was laughing when he asked me "do you suppose it would be possible for the accused to have touched the plaintiff in a non-sexual way, but she mis-interpretted it?" I responded "are you asking me if grabbing someone's breast could be interpretted in more than one way? Or are you asking me if I think that someone could misinterpret a pat on the shoulder?"

 

[Yossarian]

you want the truth? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH1!!!!!