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]