{"id":36926,"date":"2008-03-26T16:35:41","date_gmt":"2008-03-26T21:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/uncategorized\/guidelines-for-witnesses.html"},"modified":"2008-03-26T16:35:41","modified_gmt":"2008-03-26T21:35:41","slug":"guidelines-for-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"corporate","link":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/litigation-disputes\/guidelines-for-witnesses.html","title":{"rendered":"Guidelines for Witnesses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Arrive early so you can look around the courtroom and become comfortable with your surroundings.<\/li>
  2. Neat appearance and proper dress are important.<\/li>
  3. Before testifying, prepare yourself by recalling the facts, but do not memorize your testimony.<\/li>
  4. Listen carefully to the question asked, and think before speaking. If you do not understand a questions, ask to have it explained.<\/li>
  5. Speak clearly and loudly enough for the jury or judge to hear you.<\/li>
  6. Answer only the question asked, directly and simply. Do not volunteer information. Do not guess or speculate.<\/li>
  7. Do not answer if there is an objection. Wait until you are told to proceed.<\/li>
  8. Do not lose your temper. During cross-examination, remain calm, composed and courteous. Even if the attorney questioning you appears to be discourteous, being polite makes a good impression on the court and the jury.<\/li><\/ol>

    Above all, remember that you are speaking to a judge or jury. Look at them when you answer questions. A good rule of thumb is to look at a different person for each answer that you give.<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Above all, remember that you are speaking to a judge or jury. Look at them when you answer questions. A good rule of thumb is to look at a different person for each answer that you give …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"corporate_categories":[6522,6524,6529,6520,6530],"class_list":["post-36926","corporate","type-corporate","status-publish","hentry","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__civil-litigation","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__civil-litigation__civil-procedure","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__criminal-litigation","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__criminal-litigation__other-business-crime"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate\/36926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/corporate"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"corporate_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_categories?post=36926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}