Candor Saves Credibility in Courtrooms

The fastest way to destroy a witness' credibility is to let the jury think something is being hidden. Litigation attorney Dan Small draws on the mock trial case State v. Faulkner, used for his pro bono work in Uzbekistan, as well as lessons from the Appling County corruption case, to demonstrate this idea in his latest episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook." Mr. Small explores why credibility is won not by pretending a witness is spotless, but by confronting weaknesses head on. From prior convictions and shady pasts to the prosecutor's old rule of BOBS — Bring Out the Bad Stuff — the discussion shows how honesty can defuse cross-examination, build trust with a jury and turn even a deeply flawed witness into a believable one. Along the way, it also highlights the striking cultural differences that emerged as Uzbek lawyers wrestled with the framework of an adversarial trial system and discovered that, in court, honesty is truly the best policy.