Rule 3: Tell the Truth

• Author: Daniel Small
• Profession: Is a partner in the Boston and Miami of ces of Holland & Knight LLP
• Pages: 81-88

No witness takes an oath simply to tell the truth. That is a myth. The oath at

the beginning of testimony is to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing

but the truth.” Like many things in our normal lives, we tend to blur it all

together into one image. Like many things in the precise and articial world

of being a witness, we need to examine the entire statement and make sure

that we understand and consider all three parts. There are, after all, three

parts to the oath for good reasons.

1. The Truth

Witnesses should understand that this is not only a rule of law, it is a rule

of self-preservation. Lying or stretching the truth on the witness stand

may not only be a crime, it’s foolish. Assume that the questioner is more

experienced than you think, and that his or her experience includes the

ability to make a witness who is playing fast and loose with the truth

very uncomfortable.

If a questioner suspects that you are not being honest, he or she can take

a variety of approaches to try to catch you in a lie. The consequences of

telling a lie are often worse than whatever it was the questioner was asking

about in the rst place. It is what we used to call the Watergate Syndrome

and more recently have referred to as the Martha Stewart Syndrome: people

getting caught and prosecuted for covering up, not for the initial subject

matter being investigated. Don’t do it. Tell the truth.

81

Chapter 16

Rule 3: Tell the Truth

Small_PrepWitness_20140403_13-27 Second Pass.indd 81 8/12/14 10:20 AM