Hostile witness

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Evidence

Part of the common law series
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Exculpatory evidence · Scientific evidence
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Hearsay: in U.K. law · in U.S. law
Relevance
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Ancient document
Witnesses
Competence · Privilege
Direct examination · Cross-examination
Impeachment · Recorded recollection
Expert witness · Dead man statute
Hearsay (and its exceptions)
Excited utterance · Dying declaration
Party admission · Ancient document
Declarations against interest
Present sense impression · Res gestae
Learned treatise · Implied assertion
Other areas of the common law
Contract law · Tort law · Property law
Wills and Trusts · Criminal law

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.

Although the practice of declaring a witness hostile is very prevalent in television and in movies, it is far rarer in reality.^{[citation needed]}

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.