Enron trial

[earler]

The government will call fastow as a prosecution witness, but will be careful to very narrow topics in order to avoid as much as possible damage under cross examination. If the government hadn't called fastow the defense would have done so and been able to question him more broadly.

My question is this: May the defense call fastow later as a defense witness once he has been called as a prosecution one?

-er

[Judy G. Russell]

May the defense call fastow later as a defense witness once he has been called as a prosecution one? Yes, but if they call him, unless he is "qualified" as a hostile witness, they will have to proceed by way of direct (non-leading) questions rather than cross-examination.

[earler]

Of course he'd be qualified as a hostile witness, the whole purpose of calling him I should think. It will be interesting if the defense does this.

-er

[Judy G. Russell]

Of course he'd be qualified as a hostile witnessI think you may mistake the concept of hostility for this purpose. Just because the witness might not be someone aligned with your side does NOT make the witness hostile for purposes of being allowed to cross-examine rather than do a direct examination. Prosecutors have to call family members of the defendant all the time, but aren't allowed to automatically assume they're hostile. Instead, hostility has to be demonstrated, by the witness, while being examined. If the witness answers questions on direct in a cooperative fashion, then even if the testimony is adverse, it ain't hostile.