A hostile witness testifies against the party calling them, and if declared hostile, the calling attorney can cross-examine them. This allows for more freedom to question the witness and potentially obtain more favorable testimony. Hostile witnesses are rare in real life but add drama to TV and movies.
A hostile witness, also called an adverse witness or adverse witness, is a person who testifies during a legal process and whose testimony during direct examination harms the case of the party calling him or her to testify. If the judge declares the witness hostile, the calling attorney can question the witness as in a cross-examination, which includes the use of prompting questions. The hostile witness may testify against her inclination and is therefore antagonistic to the interrogating lawyer. All witnesses called by the opposing party are presumed to be legally hostile witnesses.
Greater freedom of action for lawyers
When the interrogating attorney discovers that the witness’s testimony is harmful to his client’s case, even though the witness was called to testify on the client’s behalf, the attorney may ask the judge to declare the witness a hostile witness. If the judge agrees, the attorney then has greater latitude to cross-examine the hostile witness in an effort to obtain testimony more favorable to the client’s position.
The hostile witness can be examined more closely by the attorney to whom the witness is opposed. The attorney may question the truth of the witness statements or the witness’ motives and may make direct statements to the witness about the facts of the case. The hostile witness can then accept or deny those statements.
An example of a hostile witness would be someone called to testify against a friend. The witness may have specific knowledge of the facts of the case, but may not be willing to testify about those facts because his testimony could harm your friend’s case. By having the judge declare the witness hostile, the calling attorney is allowed to ask leading questions in an effort to get the witness to reveal the truth. The lead question might be a statement by the attorney about what he believes to be true, followed by a question asking the witness if it is true. The witness must then verify or deny the truth of the attorney’s statement or face legal repercussions for refusing to answer and could be charged with perjury if he provides false information on the witness stand.
Rare in real life
The concept of hostile witnesses is heavily fictionalized by many criminal or legal television shows and films. In actual court cases, however, hostile witnesses are much rarer. Typically, attorneys have a pretty good idea of which witnesses are most likely to make their case. Surprise testimony from a witness who initially appeared to support a particular side occurs occasionally, but certainly not as frequently as seen in fiction. A hostile witness, however, can certainly add drama to a television show or movie.
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