![]() “Virtually all the questions were slanted towards finding out how culpable the fans were: “What time did you arrive at the ground? Did you witness any disorder? Did you witness any consumption of alcohol in the streets? Did you witness alcohol being brought into the ground or consumed inside the ground? Did you witness any act by supporters which obstructed police, stewards or medical persons? Were you subjected to any threats or violence? Did you witness anything you consider to be a criminal act by any person?” The best example of this I have seen is Brian Reade, writing in the Mirror, on his experience of having his statement taken by the police after the disaster: However one significant matter is the way that the police actually asked questions. There is much controversy about the statements that were taken after the Hillsborough disaster. Here I don’t mean deliberately corrupted but that a witness, who is anxious to help, could inadvertently agree with matters which, on closer examination, are not correct. It means that the evidence is far less likely to be “corrupted”. This practice, of not asking leading questions, is an essential tool in a litigator’s armoury. It meant that the judge was hearing the witnesses’ evidence rather than a response to a number of loaded questions coming from the advocate. However the rule against asking leading questions was important. A central fact that a party had told you about clearly in conference 10 minutes earlier could, sometimes, not be teased out of them at all. However the most difficult problem was the fact that you could not ask “leading questions”. “Proofs of evidence” could be fairly perfunctory (if they existed at all). Witness statements now stand as the evidence in chief. ![]() There are a declining number of practitioners who will have seen examination in chief in a civil case, let alone carried out this task. The questions asked, and the way questions are asked, will determine the evidence that goes into the statements. However one overlooked aspect is the way that witnesses are questioned. ![]() Earlier posts on witness statements have dealt with the manner of drafting and presentation. ![]()
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