Hostile witness

Evidence

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Hostile Witness: In United States law, a hostile witness is a witness in a trial who testifies for the opposing party or a witness who offers adverse testimony to the calling party during direct examination. A witness called by the opposing party is presumed hostile. A witness called by the direct examiner can be declared hostile by a judge, at the request of the examiner, when the witness' testimony is openly antagonistic or clearly prejudiced to the opposing party. A party examining a hostile witness may question the witness as if in cross-examination, thus permitting the use of leading questions. A hostile witness is sometimes known as an adverse witness. Though the practice of declaring a witness hostile is very prevalent in television and in movies, it is far rarer in reality.

Hostile Witness was also a play starring Ray Milland on Broadway for the 1965/66 season, which was also made into a movie in 1968.

[edit] External links

Federal Rules of Evidence - Rule 611: Mode and Order of Interrogation and Presentation