Commentary: Raising the Bar - the Zen of Direct and Cross- Examination

Summary

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Today's column takes its title from a seminar presented in Scottsdale, Ariz., during last month's annual meeting of the ABA Litigation Section. Schools of Buddhism aren't often invoked at such events, but perhaps they should be. A distinguishing feature of Zen is that freedom of the mind cannot be obtained by practice alone, but must come through direct and immediate insight.

Direct and immediate insight is what the advocate needs to put into action while questioning witnesses. As presented at the program, the Zen of direct and cross-examination is all about absorbing technique to the point of applying it instinctively in the courtroom.

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Extract

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Commentary: Raising the Bar - the Zen of Direct and Cross- Examination

Participants included professor Steven Saltzburg, professor of trial practice at George Washington University School of Law; Terence MacCarthy, federal public defender for the Northern District of Illinois, JoAnn Epps, professor and associate dean at Temple University School...

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