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Good Oral Argument Tip -- Try Not To Lie.

Don't you hate it when a witness lies under oath?

Actually I enjoy it, at least when I am cross-examining the little weasel.

The CIA, which knows a thing or two about lying, came up with this nifty list of how to determine if someone is lying:

The goal is to find ?clusters?? of deceptive behavior. A cluster is two or more behaviors, when the first happens within five seconds of a question. Examples of verbal deceptive behaviors:

1. Failure to answer the question directly.

2. Overly specific answers.

3. Verbal attacks at the person asking the question.

4. Enhancing qualifiers: ?To be perfectly honest,?? ?candidly,?? etc.

5. Being overly courteous or complimentary: ?That?s a great question!?? ?You know, I knew I came to the right place. . .??

6. Protest statements: A response to a question that is designed to convince rather than convey information. ?A CEO of a public company would never do such a thing.??

Examples of physical deceptive behaviors:

1. Changing one?s anchor point: Shifting in a chair, going from standing straight to leaning on a wall or table, etc.

2. Adjusting clothes, hair, jewelry, etc.

3. Covering one?s mouth or eyes.

Judges, do any of these look familiar?

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on July 14, 2009 (boomark / email).