Know Everything About Your Witnesses

Eliminate Surprises…Know Everything About Your Witnesses. In the law of evidence, witness credibility is paramount. How do you ensure the credibility of witnesses? Do you? A conundrum for many criminal defense attorneys is that they may not have the time or resources to thoroughly investigate every witness, but such investigations are necessary. You cannot afford to not vet every person in your trial. It’s too important and it should be part of your due diligence to make certain that there are no surprises when your witness gets up on the stand. You need to know everything about your witnesses!

These are some of the credibility factors judges take into consideration when listening to witnesses: [Source: http://www.nycourts.gov/judges/cji/1-General/CJI2d.Credibility.pdf]

Did the witness have an opportunity to see or hear the events about which he or she testified?
Did the witness have the ability to recall those events accurately?
Was the testimony of the witness plausible and likely to be true, or was it implausible and not likely to be true?
Was the testimony of the witness consistent or inconsistent with other testimony or evidence in the case?
Did the manner in which the witness testified reflect upon the truthfulness of that witness’s testimony?
To what extent, if any, did the witness’s background, training, education, or experience affect the believability of that witness’s testimony?
Did the witness have a bias, hostility or some other attitude that affected the truthfulness of the witness’s testimony?
You may consider whether a witness had, or did not have, a motive to lie.
You may consider whether a witness has been convicted of a crime or has engaged in criminal conduct, and if so, whether and to what extent it affects the truthfulness of that witness’s testimony.

Given that, how confident are you in the credibility of your witnesses? Can your client afford anything less than your full confidence? Neither you nor your client can afford to learn new things about your witnesses on the stand. UCMJ Investigations makes sure you don’t have to.

Our long list of satisfied customers can attest to our ability to ensure the credibility of every witness. We have the investigative experience and resources to confirm (or disprove) a witness’s background and credentials and discover whether they have ever provided conflicting testimony or been barred from testifying. It should not surprise you to find that police officers are sometimes not allowed to testify in court because of some previous egregious act they committed in court. We summarize our findings in professional reports that clearly conveying details you can count on to strengthen your case.

UCMJ Investigations services include:

Extensive case analysis focusing on the issues that jurors are most likely to notice and emphasize
Voir dire questions directed to get the most information from a prospective juror in a short amount of time
Witness background research
Focus group coordination and research that yields insight into how a “lay person” might view issues in the case
Witness assessment research
Witness preparation consultation

How do we do what we do? Simply put; we do everything necessary and legal to get the information you need. We sift through vast amounts of records and canvass neighborhoods to find out about past problems with your client or opposing witnesses. We interview current and former employers to uncover work habits and quality. We even conduct crime reenactments to demonstrate whether or not the ‘witness’ could have physically seen what he/she reported to have seen.

You need to know everything about your witnesses before they go on the stand. Call UCMJ Investigations at 501-515-2868 to make sure you do.

** If you have a case and are not sure if an investigator can help or contribute to your case, contact us for a free review. **