Just Answer the Question: Yes or No
When dealing with lawyers and judges you need to understand that the legal system has its own special way of talking about the facts and issues involved in your case.
During ordinary conversation, we meander. We digress and discuss side topics. We treat questions as conversation starters. We often answer them in a roundabout way, talking about the topic for a while before giving the short answer to the question.
A conversation with a lawyer or a judge about your legal issue is quite different. For a lawyer or judge, conversation is part of their job. For them, it’s work.
A lot of information that would be considered relevant to a casual conversation is useless in analyzing a legal issue. From a lawyer’s or judge’s perspective, discussion of that kind of information is a waste of time. This is because it doesn’t help them answer the legal question of “what can a court do about the situation?” They want to focus on the things that make a difference under the law that applies to the case.
Focus on the Question
Think about yourself when you try to do your own job. Do you want to spend your time on things that don’t help you complete your work? Not really. What you prefer to do is focus on the specific tasks to get the job done. It’s the same for lawyers and judges.
In a recent trial, I was cross-examining a witness. I asked her a very simple and direct question that called for a yes or no answer. Instead of responding to the question with a yes or no, she began talking about many things related to the topic without responding to the question itself. I repeated the question that could be answered with a simple yes or no but she persisted in talking on without ever saying a yes or no. The judge got irritated and, on her own, stepped in and said “Ma’am you need to answer Mr. Jeffries’ question.”
So, what advice do I give my clients about answering questions in court? I tell them:
“If you are asked a question, give a direct response to the question asked.”
Sometimes the answer to the question is potentially harmful to your case overall. But trying to dodge it only makes it worse. It’s much better to answer it straight up and get it out of the way.
It’s natural to avoid answering a question with a simple “yes” or “no.” Often, a yes or no answer by itself can be misleading because fully understanding the topic requires additional information.
So, what I tell people is:
“Give your yes or no answer and quickly follow it with the additional information necessary to a full understanding.”
If the lawyer tries to cut you off, odds are the judge will side with you and allow you to finish. Even if they don’t, I can come back on redirect and ask you about it so you can pick up where you left off and finish your point.
