Gerry Spence & the Art of Advocacy

Professor James R. Elkins College of Law | West Virginia University

Direct Examination

Gerry Spence on Direct Examination: "Telling Our Story Through Witnesses--Direct Examination," in Gerry Spence, Win Your Case 149-167 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005)

"Our story has already been told to the jury in the opening. The order of our witnesses should complement that." [Spence, Win Your Case, at 165] ["In our opening statement we have told our story. The complete story. Now we're here to prove it." Id. at 149] "The direct examination is also storytelling--telling the story through the lips of the witness. Our job is to help the witness tell the part of the story the witness knows. Id.

Direct Examination

Persuasive Storytelling Using Direct Examination
[Soloman, Rothbart, Goodman, LLP, Toronto]

Direct Examination in Criminal Cases
[Ray Moses, Center for Criminal Justice Advocacy]

Direct Examination
[Illinois Trial Practice Weblog]

Leading Questions During Direct Examination
[Charles W. Ehrhardt & Stephanie J. Young, Florida State University Law Review article]

Direct Examination
[Winning Trial Advocacy Techniques blog]

"What Happened Next?" Direct Examination Question
[The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog]

Videos

Hosting a Conversation

Establishing Believe-ability

Using Exhibits

Direct Examination Does NOT Need To Be a Mind-Numbing Experience

Bibliography

Michael E. Tigar, Examining Witnesses (Chicago: American Bar Association, 2nd ed., 2004)

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