Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 47 Part 1.djvu/1142

 Rules of e xamin ation. 72d C ONGRESS. SESS. II. CH. 127. FEB RUARY 27, 1933 . in writing, and must certify and transmit the same to the court or judge befo re wh om the act ion or pro ceedi ng is pend ing, in su ch manne r as the law of that stat e req uires. GENERAL RULES OF EXAMINATION Order of proof. SEC. 1198 . ORDER OF PROOF, HOW REGULATED .-The order of proof mus t be regulated by the sou nd discretion of the court. O rdina rily, the p arty begin ning the c ase m ust e xhaus t his evid ence befor e the other party begins. Exclusion of wi t- SEC. 1199 . WHAT WIT NESSE S MAY BE EXCLUDED :If either party nesses. requires it, the judge may exclude from the court-room any witness of the adverse party not at the time under examination, so that he may not he ar the testimony of oth er witnesses ; but a party to the actio n or proce eding can not be so exclu ded ; and if a corporation is a party thereto, it is entitled to the presence of one of its officers, to be desi gnate d by its attorney. tion of Control of witnesses. SEC. 1200. COUR T MAY CON TROL MODE OF INTERROGATION .-The . court must exercise a reasonable control over the mode of interro- gatio n, so as to mak e it as ra pid, as di stinc t, as litt le an noyin g to the witness, and as effective for the extraction of the truth, as may be; but subject to this rule, the parties may put such pertinent And legal questions as they see fit. The court, however, may stop the produ ction of f urthe r evi dence upon any parti cular poin t whe n the evidence upon it is already so full as to preclude reasonable doubt. "Dire ct exa mi ne- SE C. 1201 .DIRECT EXAMINATION AND C ROSS -EXA MINA TION DE- tion" and "cross-esami- nation " defined. FINED .-The examination of a witness by the party producing him is denominated the direct examination ; the examination of the same witnes s, up on the sam e mat ter, by the adv erse party , the cross- Pxs.m- ination. The direct examination must be completed before the cross-examination begins, unless the court otherwise direct. -Leading questio n ." SEC. 1202 . LEADING QUESTION D EFINE D .-A question which sug- gests to the witness the answer which the examining party desires, is denominated a leading or suggestive question . On a direct exam- ination, leading questions are not allowed, except in the sound discre- tion of the cour t, un der s pecia l cir cumst ances, mak ing it app ear t hat the interests of justice require it . Refre shing memo ry . SEC. 1203. WHEN WITNESS MAY REFRESH MEMORY FROM NOTE S .A witness is allowed to refresh his memory respecting a fact, by any- thing written by himself, or under his direction, at the time when the fact occurred, or immediately thereafter, or at any other time when the fact was fresh in his memory, and he knew that the same was co rrect ly st ated in the wri ting . But in such a case the writing mus t be produced, and may be s een by the ad ve rse party, who may , if he choose, cross-examine the witness upon it, and may re ad it to the jury. So, also, a witness may testify from such a writing, though he retain no recollection of the par ti cul ar facts, but such evidence must be received with caution. cross -exam inati on ; emits of. SEC. 1204 . CROSS-ExAMINATION, AS TO WHAT.-The opposite 1?art y may cross-examine the witness as to any facts stated in his direct exami natio n or conne cted there with, and in so doin g may put lead- ing qu estio ns, but if he e xamin e him as to oth er ma tters , suc h exa m- ination is to be subject to the sa me rules as a direct examination. nIImpeachingonnkit- SEC. 1205 . PARTY PRODUCING WITNESS, HOW FAR MAY IMPEACH HIS cE DIT.-The party producing a witness is not allowed to impeach his credit by evidence of bad character, but he may contradict him by oth er ev idenc e, and may also show that he has ma de at othe r tim es statements inconsistent with his present testimony, as -provided in section 1208.