1. Witness – those who testify in a cause or give evidence before a judicial tribunal.

2. The examination of a witness is to enable the court to judge the credibility of the witness by the witness manner of testifying, their intelligence and their appearance.

3. Open court is a court formally opened and enganged in the transaction of judicial affairs to which all persons who conduct themselves in an orderly manner are admitted.

4. Oath = An appeal by a person to God to witness the truth of what he declares and an impreciation of Divine punishment or vengeance upon him if what he says is false. 5. Purpose : To affect his conscience and thus compel him to speak the truth and also to lay him open to punishment.

6. Usual form of oath : IMMATERIAL, provided it is a form which in the witness belief invokes fear of supernatural punishment.

7. Affirmation is a solemn and formal declaration or assertion that the witness will tell the truth this being substitute for an oath in certain cases

8. When should oath or affirmation be administered?

Oath should be administered before the examination in all cases, although a witness need not be sworn ( MALABO)

9. The court may commit for contempt a witness who refuses to be sworn or to affirm.

10. A witness who is recalled need not be sworn again having been previously sworn in the case.

11. The answers of the witness shall be given orally unless the witness is incapacitated to speak or question calls for a different mode of answers

Examination of Witnesses1. The examination of witnesses is ordinarily conducted by the counsel.

2. While a party has the right to appear in propria persona or by counsel, he has not both rights and the court may refuse him permission to examine a witness when he is represented by counsel.

3. When a party is represented by several counsel who conducts the examination of witness? General rule: That but one counsel should be allowed to examine a witness in single stage.

Reasons: 1. To protect the witness from undue and confusing interrogation 2. To secure system and brevity by giving the control of the interrogation to a single hand .

Do’s and Don’tl

1. Question must not be indefinite or uncertain as to fail to put the adverse party on notice of testimony sought to be elicited and preclude him from objecting to the question in such specific manner as to prevent any improper answer and to leave it almost entirely to the discretion of the witness as to what matter shall elucidate.

2. Question must be relevant

3. Question must not be argumentative seeks to elicit the answer of the witness to the argument presented.

4. Question must not call for conclusion of law

5. Must not call for opinion or hearsay evidence – A witness can testify to those facts only which he knows of his own knowledge, that is which are derived from his own perception except where a case is proper one for the introduction of opinion evidence or calls for a testimony which falls within the exceptions.

6. Must not call for an illegal answer – Where a witness is prohibited by law from furnishing certain information, he cannot be compelled to do so by his answer.

7. Question must not call for self incriminating testimony

8. Question must not be leading.

9. Question must not be misleading

10. Question must not tend to degrade reputation of witness.

11. Question must not be repetitious.

Form and nature of the answers a witness

1. General answers – An answer though general may be proper. An answer that is too general and not confined to the issues involved is properly excluded.

2. Categorical answers

3. Answer based on witness own knowledge in part cannot be excluded as a whole because it is also based in part on what another person told him.

4. Repetitious answers – It was not error to strike out of an answer that which was only a reiteration of what the witness had testified to and about which there was no dispute.

5. Answer must be responsive to the question asked – a non-responsive answer is one that states facts not called for by the question.

6. Where an answer is partly responsive the unresponsive matter may be stricken.

7. Answer responsive to part of question

8. Answer unresponsive but relevant

Who may raise objection of lack of responsive?

1. Can be made only by person examining witness; if the answer is proper evidence the party who is examining the witness has the right to retain it if he chooses to do so and it cannot be excluded on the objection of the adverse party.

What is the remedy when the answer of the witness is not responsive?

Answer : The remedy by way of a motion to strike out the objectionable may be availed by the aggrieved party where the answer of the witness is not responsive to an objectionable question or where a witness has

volunteered statements in such a way that the party has not been able to object thereto.

If any testimony appears to be unresponsive and prejudicial, striking out may be demanded as a matter of right.

A motion to strike out testimony should specify the objection as well as the portion of the evidence which is objected to. A motion to strike out all certain evidence should not be sustained if a part of the evidence is relevant and competent.

What is the remedy where the answer of the witness in incompetent, irrelevant or otherwise improper?

Answer: Court may also order the striking out of answers which are incompetent, irrelevant or otherwise improper

When may the testimony of a witness may be given in a continuous uninterrupted narrative:

1. Where a party is witness is his own counsel2. When allowed by the trial court in the exercise of its discretion as in this case of a witness allowed to describe a transaction from the beginning once his attention of the court to the objectionable matter and by a motion to strike it out

Sec 2. Proceedings to be recorded

The entire proceedings of a trial or hearing shall be recorded not only by short hand or stenotype but also by other means approved by the court.

Which includes the following

a) Questions propounded to a witness and his answers theretob) Objections to the questions and the ruling of the court in connection therewithc) Statements made by the judge or any of the parties, counsel witnesses with reference to the case.

What is the probative value of the certification of the official stenographer, stenotypist or recorder?

Answer: Primafacie evidence of its correctness

Sec 3. Rights and Obligations of a witness – A witness must answer questions, although his answer may tend to establish a claim against him

1. To be protected from irrelevant, improper or insulting questions and from harsh or insulting demeanor 2. Not to be detained longer than the interests of justice require3. Not to be examined except only as to matters pertinent to the issue4. Not give an answer which will tend to subject him to a penalty for an offense unless otherwise provided by law5. Not to give an answer which will tend to degrade his reputation unless it be to the very fact at issue or to a fact from which the fact in issue would be presumed. But a witness must answer to the fact of his previous final conviction for an offense.

Sec 4 Order in the examination of an individual witness

a) Direct examination by the proponentb) Cross examination by the ooponentc) Re-direct examination by the proponent

d) Re-cross examination

Order of the trial shall be as follows:

1. The plaintiff must produce the evidence on his part.2. The defendant shall then offer evidence in support of his defence, counterclaim, crossclaim and thirdparty claim.3. The third party defendant if any, shall introduce evidence of his defense, counterclaim, crossclaim and third party claim.4. The fourth etc, party if any shall introduce evidence of the material facts by him pleaded.5. The parties against whom any counterclaim or crossclaim has been pleaded shall introduce evidence in support of their defense, in the order to be prescribed by the court6. The parties may then respectively offer rebutting evidence only unless the court for good reasons in the furtherance of justice permits them to offer evidence upon their original case.7. When the evidence is concluded unless the parties agree to submit the case without argument the plaintiff or his counsel may make the opening argument the defendant the third party defendant and fourth etc., party or their respective counsel may follow successeively and the plaintiff or his counsel may conclude the argument . Two counsel may if desired be heard upon each side but in order herein prescribed.8. If several defendants or third party defendant having separate defenses appear by different counsel, the court must determine their a relative order in the evidence and argument but in any event the plaintiff is entitle to the opening and closing argument.

State the order of trial in criminal cases

1. Prosecution may present evidence to prove the charge and in the propert case, the civil liability2. The accused may present evidence to prove his defense and damages if any, arising from the issuance of any provisional remedy in the case 3. The parties may then respectively present rebutting evidence only, unless the court, in furtherance of justice, permits them to present additional evidence bearing upon main issue.4. Upon admission of the evidence, the case shall be deemed submitted for decision unless the court directs the parties to argue orally or to submit memoranda.5. However, when the accused admits the act or omission charged in the complaint or information but interposes a lawful defense, the order of trial may be modified accordingly.

What is meant by direct examination?

The examination in chief of a witness that is, the initial examination by the party calling him

What is meant cross examination?

Examination of a witness by the party opposed to the party who called such witness the latter party having examined or having been entitled to examine such witness in chief.

Evidence elicited on cross examination is regarded as testimony on the part of the party calling the witness, and not as evidence of the party cross examining.

What is re-direct examination?

After a witness has been cross examined, the next state in the proceeding is his re-examination by the party calling. “Further interrogation”

What is recross examination? Operation of examining a witness who has finished his ecamination in chief, cross examination and re direct examination by the lawyer who cross examined.