Introduction

If you've ever turned on a television set or gone to the movies then you will undoubtedly have seen Hollywood's embellished portrayal of a witness giving testimony in a U.S. courtroom. There the poor fellow sits, fidgeting uncomfortably in the witness stand, adjusting his tie, wiping the sweat from his brow, with the judge and jury fixed on his every word. And the million-dollar question is somehow always the same: how will he stand up to the fiery cross-examination thrown his way? Will he buckle under the intense pressure and glare of the spotlight? Will he be tripped up by the ...