Hostile witness

Hostile witness

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.

External links

* [http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rules.htm Federal Rules of Evidence ] - Rule 611: Mode and Order of Interrogation and Presentation
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=2316 Hostile Witness, the 1966 Broadway play]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063093/ Hostile Witness, the 1968 movie]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • hostile witness — see witness Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. hostile witness n …   Law dictionary

  • hostile witness — hostile or adverse witness A witness who manifests so much hostility or prejudice under examination in chief that the party who has called him, or his representative, is allowed to cross examine him, i.e., to treat him as though he had been… …   Black's law dictionary

  • hostile witness — hostile or adverse witness A witness who manifests so much hostility or prejudice under examination in chief that the party who has called him, or his representative, is allowed to cross examine him, i.e., to treat him as though he had been… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Hostile Witness — is a 1968 British courtroom based drama film directed by Ray Milland based on a play by Jack Roffey and starring Milland, Sylvia Sims, Raymond Huntley and Julian Holloway. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063093/] References …   Wikipedia

  • hostile witness — noun a witness whose relationship to the opposing party is such that his or her testimony may be prejudiced against the opposing party a hostile witness can be asked leading questions and cross examined • Syn: ↑adverse witness • Hypernyms:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • hostile witness — witness who testifies in a contrary manner to what is expected …   English contemporary dictionary

  • hostile witness — noun In a legal trial, a person called to testify as a witness by a party to whom that witness is opposed …   Wiktionary

  • hostile witness — /ˌhɒstaɪl ˈwɪtnəs/ (say .hostuyl witnuhs) noun Law a witness who deliberately obstructs the party who called them and who therefore may be made subject to cross examination by that party. Also, adverse witness …  

  • hostile witness — noun Law a witness who is antagonistic to the party calling them and, being unwilling to tell the truth, may have to be asked leading questions …   English new terms dictionary

  • hostile witness — A witness who is subject to crossexamination by the party who called him, because of his evident antagonism toward that party as exhibited in his direct examination …   Ballentine's law dictionary

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