No courtroom skill is more fundamental to a defense attorney's practice than cross-examination. Effective cross starts with a strong foundation of core skills, but can take many forms. The cross of a 10-year-old child will look very different from the cross of a 10-year veteran police detective; techniques used to expose expert bias may not be effective to expose an eyewitness's mistake. Here are some resources to help defenders hone this vital skill.
Want More Cross?
- Cross-Examination of Difficult Witnesses - Eric Davis and Karen Smolar
- Cross-Examination of the State’s DNA Expert - Carrie Wood and Nathan Adams
- Cross of the Child Witness with Live Demo - Laurie Shanks
- Advanced Cross of Experts & Officers in DUI Cases - Larry Pozner
Additional NACDL Member Resources on Cross
- Digital Age and Practice: Practical and Tactical Workflow for Cross-Examination (Naseem, Dec. 2019)
- Cross Country: Techniques for Impeachment by Prior Inconsistent Statements (Pozner, Dec. 2019)
- Practice Points: Cross-Examination--It is All About the Story! (Duarte, June 2015)
- Cross-Esamining the Expert Witness: Do's, Don'ts and the Occassional Maybe (Sim, Feb. 2012)
Join us for NACDL's Spring Meeting!
Larry Pozner, a master of cross-examination, and co-author of "Cross-Examination: Science and Technique" will be the featured speaker in a special 4-hour session.
Cross-Examination Manuals, Video, & Self-Study CLE
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NACDL's Mission
NACDL envisions a society where all individuals receive fair, rational, and humane treatment within the criminal justice system.
NACDL’s mission is to serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal justice system, and redressing systemic racism, and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal defense bar are fully equipped to serve all accused persons at the highest level.
The Spotlight on Training is designed to be a resource to the defender community to further NACDL's Mission. Help us to help you--tell us what would you like to see in the Sportlight on Training.
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