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

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. Topics2:35   Confident witnesses   3:53   Is witness prep privileged?5:30   Procedural comfort13:54 Objections during testimony16:06 Substantive prep22:57 Tough questions and role-playing24:36 Using video in prep26:38 Theory and theme testing29:12 Common pitfalls32:04 Testimony via Zoom versus face-to-face38:15 Reluctant witnesses42:36 Expert witness prep46:03 Signoff questionQuote“When you have a problem with the witness, it’s because you didn’t prepare enough.” Hon. Chris Whitten ResourcesHon. 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)

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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.