Redirect

• Author: John Hollander
• Pages: 301-304

redirect



chapter seven

Redirect

   cannot be planned. By the

rules of professional conduct, lawyers are prohibited

from discussing the case with their witness after the com-

mencement of cross-examination. at leaves no room

for preparation of the witness for a specic redirect.

During preparation, the lawyer can tell the expert

that redirect is allowed so that the expert can explain or

expand on matters that arise during cross-examination.

During the cross-examination, the expert can send an

alert to the direct examiner of the need for redirect by

using language like, “May I explain,” “at was not what

I said,” or “Not really.” In each case, the direct examiner

can either raise an objection at the time or raise the sub-

ject during redirect.

e rule against “splitting the case” prohibits leaving

some important evidence for the redirect. It has to come

out during the direct, or not at all. Consider this redirect

sequence, which appears all too often:

: What was the result of your examination

of the plainti?