Customer Reviews

Cross-Examination: Science & Techniques

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The best thing about this book is its attempt to systematize the difficult and too-often mysticised craft of cross-examination. The worst thing about it is that the authors did not apply the level of thinking that they advocate for cross-examination to the design and content of the book, which is poorly organized, diffuse, and a general nuisance to deal with because of its pervasive shapelessness. It's well worth dealing with the demands of the book because it is the best thought-out discussion of cross-examination in print. ...if you can figure out what the authors are trying to say about how to organize a cross and get through their Rube Goldberg "system" of chapters and rules and topic cards and sequence-of-events charts and page preparations -- I eventually gave up on their explanations and started outlining the book in my own way, upon which the sloppy, ill-considered form stopped mattering and the book's powerful insights into the whole process became comprehensible. Ultimately, examining witnesses at trial is about understanding, eliciting, and explaining facts to people who have to decide where truth lies (so to speak). The authors here give more information about how to do this in more ways than anyone else. If you want to "get" what's in this book, you will have to work hard and deal with stupid obstacles to learning and recurrent barriers to clear communication. Get over it. That's a large part about what getting ready to deal with witnesses at trial is all about anyway. Might as well get the practice in a safe environment. The book seems to be written from the perspective of a primarily criminal-law oriented practice in a jurisidiction in which the lawyers have access to basically all the information that will be presented at trial. To me, a civil practice New York lawyer, that seems about as real as the Star Wars movies, but there's still a lot of value here. If you are new to this area of the law, this book is the best way to get a sense of what you can do with cross (at least until I write my book on the subject :-)) If you are experienced, it will give you ways to fine-tune your knowledge and skills. Either way, it will give you good training in patience and delayed gratification -- essential skills for a trial lawyer. If I got to break my rating down, I would give the book a (generous) two stars for accessibilty and a (conservative) five stars for concepts and information.

I found Pozner and Dodd's book the best money I've spent since graduating law school. As a criminal defense practicioner, I live and die with cross. The preparation and presentation skills taught in this book work wonders in the courtroom. The first case I tried after reading this book not only resulted in an acquital based purely upon my cross, but the judge congratulated me later by saying "great cross." Believe me, the price tag is the best money you'll spend.

Pozner & Dodd present a very well-organized protocol for conducting cross examinations. The core of their advice is perfectly sound. I highly recommend reading chapters 3 ("Developing a Theory"), 9 ("The Chapter Method"), 10 ("Page Preparation"), 11 ("Sequences"), 12 ("Only Three Rules"), 17 ("Loops"), and 18 ("Trilogies").

Other chapters include useful information, but the authors unnecessarily complicate the practice of cross examination. Few practitioners would have the necessary time to devote to preparing cross examinations as Pozner and Dodd recommend.

The book contains a highly detailed table of contents. You can almost get the full benefit of the book by studying the table of contents.

What they did not teach in law school. A must for the small practitioner or large firm litigator. I recommend this book to the young D. A.'s I have tried cases with (after the verdict). I represented the plaintiff in a civil suit and after I saw defense counsel pound on our witnesses without having a case, I decided to learn how to cross. This is the book I found. To perfect the techniques will not take 100 trials but far less.

I was finishing law school when I watched Barry Scheck's cross of Dennis Fung and I couldn't imagine being able to do that. Pozner and Dodd's book gave me the tool-tools that any attorney can use-to successfully build my case and cross any witness. This book is more than a book on cross, it's a book on how to build your case. You will understand how cross examination dictates case themes, factual analysis and trial strategies. The best legal book I have ever read.

This review is intended as a review specifically of the second edition of Pozner and Dodd's _Cross-Examination: Science & Techniques_ (released 12/2004). Some of the reviews listed for this edition appear to have been duplicated by amazon.com from reviews of the first edition in 1993.

My entire practice was transformed some years ago when I adopted the authors' cross-examination-centered method of case preparation as set out in the first edition of their book (Roger Dodd, by the way, is a co-author of the second edition as well as the first edition). Not surprisingly, because the authors' method enables the lawyer to master case facts quickly and efficiently it is as helpful in negotiating settlements as it is in actually trying cases. I will not say that the techniques are necessarily quick or easy--I can recall spending eight hours laboring over questions for a major cross examination that took exactly one-half hour in court--but it produces stunning, consistent, results.

How does the second edition differ from the first edition? Well, the authors appear to have noticed that computers have been invented. The first edition's defiantly Luddite tone emphasizing the usefulness of manual pasteup of criss-cross charts and such has modulated into a respectful acknowledgement of such things as outlining programs and databases. Second, the authors provide many more examples in the second edition of the uses of the methods in complex civil litigation, as opposed to felony criminal trials. Also, although this book is not, and does not pretend to be, a primer on discovery management in document-intensive cases, its presentation of the concepts enables the reader at least to envision how the systems might be applied.

In addition, when I read the first edition I found the amount of information in this book simply overwhelming. Perhaps because the text is not quite as densely crammed into the page, or perhaps because I have been studying this material for years, with the help of a hilarious audiotape of a Pozner and Dodd lecture, the second edition seems less overwhelming. I noticed that the authors' quirky turns of phrase have been somewhat smoothed out, alas ("sliding off" objections is now described as "dealing with" objections); simultaneously, a number of minor, annoying typos have crept in, mostly errant commas and subject-verb disagreements.

One additional comment about the physical book--it is printed on heavier paper than the first edition. This is a Good Thing. The first edition was on very thin paper, almost like a bible, which made the pages almost transparent; I nearly wore them out. The second edition is more durable and more readable.

The verdict: probably not worth replacing your first edition with a copy of the second edition (unless you never bought the pocket part update on "The Crying Witness," worth the price of the new volume). But if you don't own this book, and you fancy yourself a trial lawyer, what are you waiting for? There are Only Three Rules of good-cross examination, but the Only Three Rules are just the beginning of a durable analytical structure adaptable to all trial work.

Pozner and Dodd's book contains techniques not found elsewhere. I won two hotly contested employment trials for big money in the last 4 months, as a relatively new trial attorney.

If there is one thing better than using these techniques to prepare for and conduct cross at trial- it's watching your adversary fumble the cross making every mistake in the book (this book!)

The writing style is tedious at times, but their essential advice on "only three rules" and the one area per notecard preparation method are invaluable and will save you loads of time!

If you buy this book, try to get the 6 Disc Audio CD set with it. The CD set is basically the two authors giving a seminar on the topic of the book and it really makes the book more understandable and much easier to read. The book is dense and could be intimidating at first glance. But don't lose the forest for the trees. Their method is very simple to understand and you will be amazed at how much you can improve your cross by just making some very basic adjustments to your current style. Some of their suggestions are so obvious but incredibly effective.

I am a criminal defense attorney in Chicago and I cannot wait to really employ these methods in full. Many of you already use parts of this system and don't know it. This was certainly true for me. I know never to ask an open ended question on cross but never really knew a way to get the same information without giving the witness the chance to give a long, self-serving answer. Unfortunately, I have done it and have been badly burned. Never again.

The most important thing I learned was why it's so bad and ineffective to ask the standard conclusory question on cross. We have all been there. You have a witness answering yes to all your questions and then you kill it with..."so, you agree that [insert conclusion here]?" And the witness says "No. I don't agree counselor. What I said was [enter harmful explanation here]." I will NEVER do that again. Why? After reading this book I know how to get what I want out of the witness without giving the opportunity for a narrative answer that hurts my case.

If you earn your fees on your feet in a courtroom trying cases, this might be the best investment you will ever make. I am that serious.

I agree with the comments of the previous reviewer, Stephen Chakwin. I'd add the following. The authors' effort to demystify cross-examination remains an admirable goal, and they went a long way toward reaching it. But this would have been a far better book if the authors possessed the will or desire to remove one-half of the text. I left with the impression that the authors were 'paid by the word,' that a business decision was made to get the book 'up to' 600 pages in order to create the illusion of a profound work of "science" and thereby justify the price. The book is verbose, it is poorly edited, it is frequently repetitive and, occasionally, meandering. Ironically, these are all qualities the authors find in poor cross-examinations.

Despite all of the above-described flaws, this remains the best book I have read on the subject of cross-examination. I wish that, in the course of slaying the myth of cross-examination as `art,' the authors had dropped the pretense of `science.' Cross-examination is neither art nor science. It is a set of techniques that can be learned and applied to administrative hearings, depositions, and of course trials.

A truly great book on the subject of cross-examination is yet to be written. But this book came as close as any I have read.

As a young sole practioner I thought I would have to learn to try cases by trial and error only. I studied, and continue to study this book. I tried my first felony jury trial and won!! I know it was because I effectively destroyed a police officer on cross examination with the techniques in this book. Its a winner, and if applied can make a winner of you.