NOVEMBER 2025 | 23 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. instructions in civil and criminal explain that the jury determines “the weight and value” of expert/ opinion testimony. To call an expert witness, the court must determine that “scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge” would aid the factfinder. To cross-examine an expert, the lawyer needs to be extremely knowledgeable about the field. This may require consulting with an expert to ensure the lawyer understands everything. If the lawyer is fortunate enough to hire their own expert, they should have the expert sit and listen to the other expert’s testimony. Study the expert’s curriculum vitae and challenge if parts of it are lacking. Read all writings of the expert and see if other experts challenged or contradicted their opinions or if their writings contradict their opinion in the current case. Research if the witness has testified in other cases and if juries did not agree with the expert or if cases were reversed for something involving the expert’s testimony. Read learned treatises on the subject matter and challenge them to ensure that their opinion or work matches what the prevailing research shows. If they are unfamiliar with prominent articles in the field, it may show they are not as knowledgeable as they claim. A successful trial lawyer will not accept any expert’s opinion just because they claim to be an expert. The following is a brief example of impeaching an expert witness in a child sexual abuse case: Attorney: Do you agree with this statement: “A normal sexual assault nurse examination does not mean that sexual victimization has not happened.” Expert: No. Attorney: So you disagree with the Official Journal of the Academy of Pediatrics article about genital anatomy in pregnant teenagers, titled “Normal Doesn’t Mean Nothing Happened,” that found that out of 36 pregnant teens where sexual activity was undisputed, only two had findings of penetrating trauma? THE ART OF CROSS-EXAMINATION Effective cross-examination is the practice of active and intense listening to the witness’s answers, complete preparation and relaxation. The examination of any witness is a living and breathing thing. The examiner must carefully listen to the witness’s answers and simultaneously process those answers while continuing to ask the salient questions that have been predetermined in trial preparation. Adaptation is crucial. The key to adaptation is intently listening to the witness, which is easy with complete relaxation and command of the courtroom. The examiner, be it on direct or cross-examination, must, to the greatest degree possible, step away from any predetermined script and be able to refocus and readjust based on the answers the witness gives. The interrogation of a witness never goes precisely as planned. The witness will throw curveballs and sometimes knuckleballs, but what the examiner is looking for is the slow floating “change-up” that will allow the cross-examiner to “tee-up” the witness with a question the lawyers could never have predicted in pretrial preparation. Preparation is the key to an effective cross-examination. What testimony or points does the lawyer need to get through to that witness? Cross-examination is a way for the lawyer to present their client’s version of the story and potentially why the juror should not believe that witness. Cross-examination is about the lawyer, not the witness.15 Read every statement the witness has given and have all the statements in hand during cross-examination, including
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