How Do I Present My Testimony and the Testimony of My Witnesses in Small Claims Court?

How Do I Present My Testimony and the Testimony of My Witnesses in Small Claims Court?

Last updated: May 2008

The following question was submitted to John Roska, an attorney/writer whose weekly newspaper column, "Q&A: The Law," runs in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Illinois Edition) and the Champaign News Gazette.

Question

I sued someone in small claims court. I have one witness, besides myself, that I want to testify.  How do I testify, and how do I have a witness testify?

Answer

When you’re presenting you own witnesses, it’s called "direct examination." There’s also cross-examination, where you get to question the other side’s witnesses. But the other side also gets to cross-examine you and your witnesses. You therefore really have to be ready for two different things: your cross-examination of the other side’s witnesses, and their cross-examination of you and your witnesses.

So, if you plan to testify as a witness—and plaintiffs in Small Claims cases usually do—prepare to be cross-examined.

Good but blunt advice for anyone who is being cross-examined is to answer each question directly and honestly, and then shut up. The more you say, the more likely it is you’ll say something that’ll be used against you. Your opponent probably wants you to keep talking, in the hopes you’ll help them out.

So, witnesses being cross-examined should be brief, and resist the temptation to explain or justify an answer. If you’re the plaintiff in a case, you should get another chance to testify, and present more evidence, after the defendant’s done presenting all their evidence. You can therefore wait until later, at "rebuttal," to explain or elaborate upon what you or your witnesses said when cross-examined.

(Rebuttal is the plaintiff’s chance to respond to the defendant’s evidence. It happens after the defendant is done presenting all their witnesses and evidence.)

In addition to being cross-examined, you also get to cross-examine. You should therefore plan ahead of time, before the trial, what questions you might want to ask the other side.

When you cross-examine someone, you only get to ask questions about what they have already said. In legalese, your cross-examination is limited to the scope of the witness’s direct examination. So, limit your cross-examination to things that the witness said or brought up during their direct testimony.

Don’t expect to score big points on cross-examination, like they do in the movies. As one expert said, a cross-examination is a commando raid, not the Normandy invasion. If you can bring out a fact or two that helps you, or point out an inconsistency, you’re doing good.

Probably the biggest mistake someone makes during cross-examination is trying to testify, instead of asking questions. For example: You’re cross-examining someone, and you totally disagree with what they’re saying. You can’t just say, "They’re lying, Judge, it really happened like this . . . ." If you do, you’ve abandoned cross-examination, and have started testifying yourself. Wait til rebuttal to present your corrections.

Above all, prepare ahead of time what you want to say and ask. For tips on how to prepare ahead of time, see How to Prepare to Present Your Testimony and the Testimony of Your Witnesses in Small Claims Court

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Old National Bank Building
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3rd Floor Carbondale, IL 62901 | View map


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