Swearing on stuff (11 Viewers)
- Thread starter Martin
- Start date
That's another thing though. I was always astounded to see in tv series about police or lawyers how they would question suspects/witnesses about their memories. "Where were you on the night in question at 22?" Meanwhile the investigation drags on for weeks. I don't even remember what I did on Monday.
It's not about you, though. The reason they give you that book is based on the assumption that people believe in god and having sworn on the bible they will not lie, because lying will send them to hell. This is the assumption baked into a modern legal system, which doesn't exactly make it look good.
Suppose that when police arrested you they would have to do a quick exorcism because they had just handled a suspect. Would you feel good in their hands or would you wonder what else these cooks are capable of?
Suppose that when police arrested you they would have to do a quick exorcism because they had just handled a suspect. Would you feel good in their hands or would you wonder what else these cooks are capable of?
Probably. Depositions are where a witness or expert or accused is asked questions about the case way before the trial. That way the attorneys have a record of what you said prior to asking you about it in court.
Also if you're involved in a case that required a police report, you're generally asked what happened and its written in there usually a short period of time (minutes or hours) after the "whatever" occurred.
Not being able to remember is ok too, so long as you say it before you go to court. A witness that can't remember Monday on Wednesday is not a good witness to call before a courtroom and is unlikely to be called.
I saw a guy steal a car once, but I couldn't remember his face. It was early in the morning, dark and the guy had a jacket and hat on. So the police and the attorney elected to not even officially interview me.
Attorneys very rarely ask questions that they don't already know the answer to or at least have a very good idea of what the answer will be.
Also if you're involved in a case that required a police report, you're generally asked what happened and its written in there usually a short period of time (minutes or hours) after the "whatever" occurred.
Not being able to remember is ok too, so long as you say it before you go to court. A witness that can't remember Monday on Wednesday is not a good witness to call before a courtroom and is unlikely to be called.
I saw a guy steal a car once, but I couldn't remember his face. It was early in the morning, dark and the guy had a jacket and hat on. So the police and the attorney elected to not even officially interview me.
Attorneys very rarely ask questions that they don't already know the answer to or at least have a very good idea of what the answer will be.
It's about getting information. However, you'd be surprised at how versions of stories change between the time of a deposition and the trial. Some attorney's will attempt to trick you, but your attorney can coach you based on the depositions to be ready for the other attorney's questions. Both attorneys get the opportunity to question a witness during a trial and both can do it multiple times (rebuttals) if needed.
In addition if you find out at a deposition that a witness isn't good for you or isn't as reliable as you thought, you can drop him or her. As an attorney, the more information you get before you go to trial, the better job you'll do serving your client.
In addition if you find out at a deposition that a witness isn't good for you or isn't as reliable as you thought, you can drop him or her. As an attorney, the more information you get before you go to trial, the better job you'll do serving your client.