Organizing Your Testimony Before You Go to Court

If the answers to any or some of the above make the witness undesirable, are there any other witnesses available to provide the same testimony? Do you absolutely need this person to testify as

Types of Witnesses There are two types of witnesses that can be used to provide testimony:

1. Lay witness. A witness having personal knowledge of the facts or evidence about which he or she will testify.
2. Expert witness. A witness who by reason of education or specialized experience possesses superior knowledge regarding a subject about which average persons with no training are incapable of forming an accurate opinion or making a correct conclusion.

Preparation of Witnesses Although testimony will be provided by witnesses of varying levels of age, experience, communication skills, knowledge, expertise, familiarity with the litigation process, nevertheless, certain points should be covered with all witnesses when organizing their testimony. They are as follows: