A referral examination occurs after cross-examination in a trial. The attorney who called the witness has the chance to clarify their testimony during a redirect. Witness coaching is legal, but perjury is not. After cross-examination, the original attorney can only ask questions about the cross-examination during the redirect. The redirect is an opportunity to re-establish key facts and information.
A referral examination takes place during a trial after cross-examination of a witness has been completed. During a redirect, the attorney who called the witness has the opportunity to clarify the witness’s testimony, in an effort to minimize potential harm and explain the testimony. The right to a redirect is not always taken from an attorney, although unexpected or potentially dangerous testimony will often evoke a redirect. After the witness goes through this process, he is thanked and fired.
The process of calling a witness tends to be quite complex. Usually, attorneys meet with witness calls before the trial begins, to answer questions likely to be asked of the witness, along with his or her answers to those questions. While explicit coaching and inciting perjury are not legal, a lawyer can certainly review testimony with a witness to make it stronger. As a general rule, once a witness has taken the witness stand, the attorney who called that witness will not ask a question to which he does not know the answer. The idea is to present the witness’s evidence to the jury convincingly, not to gather new information.
After an attorney has examined their witness, the witness is turned over to the opposition for cross-examination. During the cross-examination, the attorney will ask a series of questions designed to get more information from the witness. While common in courtroom dramas, unexpected revelations during cross-examination are actually quite rare. Usually, opposing counsel is simply trying to undermine the credibility of the witness.
Once the cross examination is complete, the judge provides an opportunity to redirect to the original attorney. Typically, the attorney may only ask questions about material that transpired in the cross-examination during the redirection. This is because opposing counsel will not have the opportunity to deal with new or unexpected information from that witness.
Especially in a case where the opposition has sought to undermine credibility, redirection is an important opportunity for the lawyer to re-establish key facts and information. For example, if the opposition assaults the witness’ vision, the attorney can clarify the matter in the redirect, indicating that the witness could see events perfectly. Or, where professional qualifications are in doubt, the lawyer can clarify that the witness is an expert in her field.
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