You may see depositions as your golden opportunity to preserve testimony, elicit admissions, and test theories—but for your witness, depositions are a veritable stewpot of jangled nerves and apprehension. In this episode, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten shares what you can do to ensure your witness walks into a deposition feeling at ease with the process and ready to handle even the toughest questions. Judge Whitten reflects on role-playing, using video as a prep tool, broaching difficult topics, responding to objections, and testifying live versus livestream—and that's just for starters.
Topics
2:35 Confident witnesses
3:53 Is witness prep privileged?
5:30 Procedural comfort
13:54 Objections during testimony
16:06 Substantive prep
22:57 Tough questions and role-playing
24:36 Using video in prep
26:38 Theory and theme testing
29:12 Common pitfalls
32:04 Testimony via Zoom versus face-to-face
38:15 Reluctant witnesses
42:36 Expert witness prep
46:03 Signoff question
Quote
“When you have a problem with the witness, it’s because you didn’t prepare enough.” Hon. Chris Whitten
Resources
Hon. Chris Whitten (bio)
Building Trial Skills: San Diego (course)
The Ins and Outs of Jury Selection (webcast)
En Banc: Judges’ Perspectives on Remote Hearings (webcast)
“Can I Get a Witness?” (video)