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Full-Text Articles in Law
Witness Coaching By Prosecutors, Bennett L. Gershman
Witness Coaching By Prosecutors, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Given its controversial nature, one would expect the practice and ethics of witness coaching to have attracted close scrutiny by courts and commentators. Interestingly, however, the subject has received relatively modest attention. A handful of judicial and ethics opinions have discussed superficially the subject of witness preparation and coaching. Practitioner manuals typically offer general guidance on how to prepare witnesses, and occasionally address tactical and ethical issues involved in coaching. Scholarly commentary has examined the ethical limits of witness preparation, particularly by differentiating acceptable techniques from improper techniques, which promote false or misleading testimony. In addition, popular culture occasionally has …
Child Witnesses And Procedural Fairness, Bennett L. Gershman
Child Witnesses And Procedural Fairness, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Professor Gershman's Article notes that courts and lawmakers have changed procedural and evidentiary rules to protect child witnesses in child sexual abuse cases. Gershman discusses how courts apply the changed rules with careful scrutiny in an effort to ensure that the interests of the child witness and the accused defendant are appropriately balanced.
The Prosecutor's Obligation To Grant Defense Witness Immunity, Bennett L. Gershman
The Prosecutor's Obligation To Grant Defense Witness Immunity, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The author enumerates the three most common situations in which the courts have required the prosecutor to offer immunity to defense witnesses: (1) to safeguard the defendant's right to essential exculpatory testimony; (2) where the use of the prosecutor's powers to grant immunity causes such distortion in the fact-finding process as to require granting immunity to defense witnesses; and (3) where immunity is required to remedy prosecutory misconduct such as the intimidation of witnesses. The use of the "missing witness" instruction to avoid reaching the constitutional issue is also discussed.