Maybe in the course of litigation, a witness was on the stand saying things that you, and everyone around them, knew they were lying (well, everyone except the judge).
Such was the case with a person who came into my library the other day.
Seems lady was in the middle of her divorce case. Soon-to-be-ex husband gets up on the stand and starts to spew falsehood after falsehood about the value of their once joint company.
She is sitting in her chair absolutely dumbfounded and could not believe her ears. Good thing that his testimony was at the end of the day and the judge called for a recess until 10:00AM the following day.
Seems lady was in the middle of her divorce case. Soon-to-be-ex husband gets up on the stand and starts to spew falsehood after falsehood about the value of their once joint company.
She is sitting in her chair absolutely dumbfounded and could not believe her ears. Good thing that his testimony was at the end of the day and the judge called for a recess until 10:00AM the following day.
Lady is standing in front of me asking how is it possible that he can lie like that? Of course, this brings us to our word of the month: PERJURE. According to Black's Law Dictionary, PERJURE means:
To make (oneself) culpable of deliberately making materials false or misleading statements while under oath. (In a passive sense) to become involved in, or proved to be guilty of, perjury.
Lady is livid and is just this side of freaking out. I ask, "Can you prove he is lying (other than just your word)?" Lady says that in his deposition, he said the complete opposite.
Wait, deposition? You took his deposition?!? Turns out, to her credit, she did.
Wait, deposition? You took his deposition?!? Turns out, to her credit, she did.
Oh happy day! Rare is the pro se litigant who has their act together and I suggested she take a look at
- California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (TR; Depositions, Chp. 8E, pp. 150-155; Interrogatories, Chp. 8F, pp. 70-72)
- California Practice Guide: Civil Trials and Evidence (TR)
- California Civil Procedure During Trial (CEB)
- Effective Direct and Cross Examination (CEB)
- Trying Cases to Win: Cross Examination (Wiley Law Pub.)
- Examination of Witnesses, 2d (TR)
- Trial Practice Series: Closing Arguments (TR)
...and off Lady was preparing for round 2.
Yep, we've got a whole lot of stuff to help people go from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the mountain.
When next you have a Goliath that you're looking to slay, why not stop wasting your time looking online for answers that aren't there and head over to your local county law library?
When next you have a Goliath that you're looking to slay, why not stop wasting your time looking online for answers that aren't there and head over to your local county law library?
Yeah, that's what you should do.
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