"Three techniques to use in questioning a witness" by Michael P. Maslanka

A goal in questioning a witness is to get him to agree to your question or make him look bad by not doing so. Here are three techniques.

1. Is this a fair summary? Here, you summarize facts on a point (tipped in your favor) and ask, "Is this a fair summary?" As long as you are looking for a single or a double, not a home run, this can work. The natural tendency of a witness is to answer "Yes" and not fight you on the slight slant.

2. Can you accept the fact? You can ask a witness if she agrees with you on a point, or you can ask if she understands your client's viewpoint. Usually these do not work. Try this instead: "Can you accept the fact that (fill in what you want her to agree to)?" If she says yes, fine; if she says no, the predicate in the question makes her sound unreasonable.

3. Take it to the limit one more time. That's a line from a song by the Eagles. Use it as a technique when a witness will not agree with anything you want him to affirm. So, "Are you saying that your manager had no redeeming qualities whatsoever?" I won a summary judgment with that question; in his order, the judge dropped a footnote citing the Q and A, with the A being "Yes," and concluding that this was a case of a personality conflict, not discrimination.