You may see depositions as your golden opportunity to preserve testimony, elicit admissions, and test theories—but for your witness, depositions are a veritable stewpot of jangled nerves and apprehension. In this episode, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten shares what you can do to ensure your witness walks into a deposition feeling at ease with the process and ready to handle even the toughest questions. Judge Whitten reflects on role-playing, using video as a prep tool, broaching difficult topics, responding to objections, and testifying live versus livestream—and that's just for starters.

Topics

2:35   Confident witnesses   

3:53   Is witness prep privileged?

5:30   Procedural comfort

13:54 Objections during testimony

16:06 Substantive prep

22:57 Tough questions and role-playing

24:36 Using video in prep

26:38 Theory and theme testing

29:12 Common pitfalls

32:04 Testimony via Zoom versus face-to-face

38:15 Reluctant witnesses

42:36 Expert witness prep

46:03 Signoff question

Quote

“When you have a problem with the witness, it’s because you didn’t prepare enough.” Hon. Chris Whitten

Resources

Hon. Chris Whitten (bio)

Building Trial Skills: San Diego (course)

The Ins and Outs of Jury Selection (webcast)

En Banc: Judges’ Perspectives on Remote Hearings (webcast)

“Can I Get a Witness?” (video)