Cross-examination Techniques #6 - Exaggeration

How to deal with the witness who exaggerates

We have now covered impeachment (Episodes #3, #4 and #5 in Cross-examination Techniques). Now it’s time to consider another technique in live-action cross-examination. We will start with exaggeration, one of the most common occurrences in a witness’ testimony. No matter how often you instruct your witness to stick to the facts in the direct examination, you watch as they blissfully make some of the most extreme statements. 

Examples include:

·        “No, I never do that.” Note the use of the word ‘never’.

·        “But I know I did that because I always do.” Note the use of the word ‘always’.

·        “I sat through the whole meeting and paid attention to every word.” Note the words ‘whole’ and ‘every’.

·        “That person couldn’t possibly have done that because…” Note the use of the phrase ‘couldn’t possibly’.

·        “The speed was so fast that the car passed every other car on the road.” Note the use of the word ‘every’.

The point is that witnesses don’t have to go to extremes. They can simply state that an event didn’t happen. When they use extreme language, they open themselves up to attack. And that is what this episode’s technique concerns – how to attack.