Complex and Leading Questions
Many of my friends practice law at District Court Bemina. They often share with me court-room stories consisting of strange, amusing and terrifying happenings. One thing I want to talk about a little is cross-examination of a witness, more specifically the tools with which it's carried out. Cross-examination by definition is always carried out by the opponent counsel to the witness called by the adversary party. One of my lawyer friends recounted a story wherein Mushtaq Dar, a famous criminal lawyer here in Srinagar, cross-examined a female witness. My friend recalled that no sooner had he started cross-examining her than the lady started perspiring profusely. He plied her with so many questions and in such a way that she literally started crying. It wasn't because she was guilty or complicit in or a accomplice to a crime. No, far from it. It was the very vibe which the lawyer created that frightened her. The situation worsened so much so that the judge had to intervene. Owing ...