b. Examination in chief

b. Examination in chief

The purpose of examination in chief is to elicit helpful information supporting the case of the party calling him or her. The party which calls a particular witness conducts examination in chief of that witness. As a general rule, the party conducting the examination in chief may not ask the witness leading questions. A leading question is one that either suggests the answer desired, or assumes the existence of disputed facts as to which the witness is to testify.

It has often been said that leading questions are those which invite a yes/no answer. However, this is inaccurate. Some open-ended questions can be leading, e.g. “what vehicle were you driving last night?” suggests that the witness was in fact driving last night.

There are however some generally accepted exceptions to this general rule, for example:

• Formal matters such as name, address, occupation of the witness;
• Matters not in dispute;
• If there is no objection from opposing party and with permission of the Magistrate / the Judge;
• To establish a negative, e.g. “Did you consent to the sexual intercourse with the defendant?”