badgering the witness
When a lawyer is unnecessarily hostile to, combatative with or harrassing a witness. For example "Do you really expect the jury to believe that?" or "WHERE WERE YOU ON THE NIGHT OF FOURTH? WHERE? HUH? ROBBING A BANK?"
Badgering a witness is grounds for objection.
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
When, instead of being questioned, a witness is subjected to derisive comments ("You expect the jury to believe that?"), legal arguments posed as questions ("With all the evidence against you, how can you deny that you stole the watch?), or questions that assume facts not in evidence ("There were ten people blocking your view, yet you can identify the security guard?").
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:11 pm
