hostile witnesses
Antagonistic courtroom speakers
A hostile witness is someone called to testify who shows antagonism toward the party that summoned them, typically by giving evasive or contradictory answers.
Once a judge declares a witness hostile, the examining attorney may ask leading questions—a technique normally reserved for cross-examination: The prosecution asked the court to treat him as a hostile witness after he contradicted his earlier statement.
- reluctantUnwilling to act
- adversarialCharacterized by conflict
- uncooperativeUnwilling to assist others
- impeachmentCharging officials with misconduct
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
under oath · subpoena · combative · defiant · recanting · cross-examination · courtroom · unwilling · tension · resistant · leading questions · objection · trial · stare · Fifth Amendment · evidence · evasion · court reporter
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