If you take your criminal case to trial, then the prosecution is going to take testimony from multiple witnesses in hopes of obtaining a conviction. Even if you know that these witnesses have the facts wrong or are misconstruing the evidence, the jury isn’t going to know that unless you point it out to them. That’s why as you prepare your criminal defense, you have to aggressively look for ways to attack the credibility and reliability of the prosecution’s witnesses.
How to undermine the prosecution’s witnesses
Although you might not be able to attack every witness that the prosecution puts on the stand, there’s a good chance that you can minimize a lot of the testimony being given. Here are some ways that you might be able to do that:
- Point out contradictory statements that were made by the witness, such as those made during a deposition compared to those made at trial.
- Show that the witness is biased against you for some reason.
- Demonstrate that the witness is motivated to testify against you, especially if they were given a plea deal in exchange for their testimony.
- Illustrate the witness’s history of untruthfulness, especially if they have a criminal conviction related to dishonesty.
- Use expert testimony to contradict the prosecution’s witnesses.
There may be other ways to attack the prosecution’s witnesses in your case, which is why you need to research these witnesses well ahead of time to identify the strategy that will work best.
Aggressively build your criminal defense
While addressing witness credibility is important in your criminal case, it’s only one aspect of your criminal defense. As you work to build your defense, be sure to address every avenue that may give you an opening to beat the prosecution. Hopefully then you can maximize your chances of avoiding harsh penalties.