43. Can I Get a Witness?, with Hon. Chris Whitten Artwork

May the Record Reflect

If you’re a litigator or trial lawyer, your life is full—in and out of the courtroom. May the Record Reflect is the podcast of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and we know that if something related to lawyering is interesting to us, chances are it’s interesting to you, too. Trial skills, office life, personal development, and more—it’s all fair game on May the Record Reflect.

All Episodes

May the Record Reflect

43. Can I Get a Witness?, with Hon. Chris Whitten

June 13, 2023 • National Institute for Trial Advocacy • Episode 43

0:00 | 49:03

You may see depositions as your golden opportunity to preserve testimony, elicit admissions, and test theories—but for your witness, depositions are a veritable stewpot of jangled nerves and apprehension. In this episode, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten shares what you can do to ensure your witness walks into a deposition feeling at ease with the process and ready to handle even the toughest questions. Judge Whitten reflects on role-playing, using video as a prep tool, broaching difficult topics, responding to objections, and testifying live versus livestream—and that's just for starters.

Topics

2:35 Confident witnesses

3:53 Is witness prep privileged?

5:30 Procedural comfort

13:54 Objections during testimony

16:06 Substantive prep

22:57 Tough questions and role-playing

24:36 Using video in prep

26:38 Theory and theme testing

29:12 Common pitfalls

32:04 Testimony via Zoom versus face-to-face

38:15 Reluctant witnesses

42:36 Expert witness prep

46:03 Signoff question

Quote

“When you have a problem with the witness, it’s because you didn’t prepare enough.” Hon. Chris Whitten

Resources

Hon. Chris Whitten (bio)

Building Trial Skills: San Diego (course)

The Ins and Outs of Jury Selection (webcast)

En Banc: Judges’ Perspectives on Remote Hearings (webcast)

“Can I Get a Witness?” (video)