Never assume the best of witnesses. Perhaps you wouldn't try to shade the truth if you were being deposed, but that's not true of many witnesses. When taking depositions, a little cynicism goes a long way. Unless you're certain otherwise, assume the witness is lying.
There are a number of ways witnesses can try to fool you at depositions. Here are just a few:
- The witness can knowingly make a false statement. “The light was green,” he might say, when he knows it was red.
- The witness can state he doesn’t know the answer to your question when, in fact, he knows the answer very well.
- The witness can say “I don’t remember,” when, in fact, he does remember.
- The witness can give one of the words in your question a meaning he knows is false, so that he can answer your question in a way that seems to be accurate, though it really isn’t. “It depends on what the meaning of the word is is,” said one famous deponent.
- The witness can answer a question that you didn't ask, hoping you won't notice.
In one of my deposition podcasts, I noted that you should be on alert for witnesses who give away their deceptions in the way they give their answers. If you think a witness is trying to fool you, don’t be bashful about circling around and starting the line of questions from a new angle. "Muck around in it," a lawyer I know used to say. Wear the witness down by refusing to give up. Make it clear that the deposition won't end until you get full, truthful, and complete answers.