Hostile witness
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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.
[edit] External links
- Federal Rules of Evidence - Rule 611: Mode and Order of Interrogation and Presentation
- Hostile Witness, the 1966 Broadway play
- Hostile Witness, the 1968 movie
