Legal Dictionary
hostile witness
Legal Definition of hostile witness
Noun
- During an examination-in-chief, a lawyer is not allowed to ask leading questions of their own witness. But, if that witness openly shows hostility against the interests (or the person) that the lawyer represents, the lawyer may ask the court to declare the witness "hostile", after which, as an exception of the examination-in-chief rules, the lawyer may ask their own witness leading questions.
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Definition of hostile witness
Noun
hostile witness (plural hostile witnesses)
- (law) In a legal trial, a person called to testify as a witness by a party to whom that witness is opposed.
Further reading
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
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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