A leading question, as it relates to testimony in a criminal case, is when the person asking the questions of a witness essentially suggests the answer. For example, someone could say that the car was blue, wasn't it? That's a leading question. Now, you can ask leading questions on cross-examination. Still, you can only ask leading questions on direct testimony when you call the witness, provided you can show the judge that the witness is hostile and not cooperative regarding your questioning. So, sometimes the prosecution, for example, in a domestic violence case, if the wife is now trying to help the husband in the case and makes different statements than what she originally made, the prosecutor can ask the judge to treat her as a hostile witness and then can start to ask leading questions and say, wait a minute, you told the police back when you got the black eye that your husband is the one that hit you. Now, you're trying to change your story and say something different. Leading questions are an effective way to convey your point.

I use leading questions all the time on cross-examination when witnesses are trying to go against my client. When witnesses attempt to present evidence against my client, I will ask them leading questions to elicit the testimony I want. In other words, I can say, ' Wait a minute, sir. You're now saying that you saw the car hit the person, but when the police originally questioned you, you said you didn't see the car hit the person. ' This is a leading question, and now the witness will be forced to answer, saying, ' Well, now my memory is better, and so I'm saying I did see your client hit the person. ' You can say, wait a minute, sir, so over time, your memory has gotten better? Don't you think your memory would have been best right at the time of the incident? Then you can hit him with more, leaving him with unanswered questions. For example, the reason you're saying you saw my client hit the person now is because you're friends with the person, and you realize my client has a lot of money.

So, leading questions are very effective, but what you have to watch out for as a criminal defense attorney is when the prosecutor or their witnesses start to ask leading questions. Then they're just trying to feed the witnesses their version of events – their story – which is inappropriate. Therefore, you should object to leading questions and ask the witness more general questions so we can truly understand what they have to offer.

A leading question can be effective for a party, and it can also be a situation where the defense must be prepared to object and prevent the prosecution from leading witnesses. I've had prosecutors lead witnesses, and they're doing it on purpose, so a witness can hear the way that they want them to testify, and then I have to go to the judge and say, Your Honor, they're doing that intentionally. They're asking questions they know are leading so they can tell the witness what they want them to testify, and then, when you sustain my objection, they say a question that's not leading, but the witness is smart. They heard the leading question, and all they do is parrot back what the leading question was. So, that's another thing you have to look out for as a criminal defense attorney.

I've been doing this for twenty-five years. I've participated in numerous jury trials, as well as many motions where I've cross-examined witnesses and attended preliminary hearings. I know a leading question. I know how to use leading questions and your attorney effectively has got to have that ability in a criminal case in LA, or not only are they not going to get your evidence out, they're going not to be able to stop the prosecutors from inappropriately bringing in evidence they shouldn't be able to. They will need an effective cross-examination. You're going to be put at a disadvantage when it comes to litigating your criminal case at a trial or a preliminary hearing. So, make sure you choose your attorney wisely – someone who knows how to cross-examine witnesses, who knows how to ask questions the right way, and who knows how to block the prosecutors in LA from inappropriately bringing in leading questions.