K.C. Sierra

Corrected entry: When Carolyn Polhemus is questioning a young witness on the stand, she commits several legal errors that would certainly have led to objections from the defense. For example, she asks, "Did someone put your head in the vise?" That's called a leading question, and is generally not allowed during direct examination, even if the witness is a child. Then when the child doesn't answer, she asks "What did you say when someone put your head in the vise?" You can't legally ask the follow-up question when the first question has not been answered. Even if the defense lawyer allowed the leading question, which is unlikely, he would certainly have objected to the follow-up question.

K.C. Sierra

Correction: I am taking a class called procedures of the criminal justice system and in my class I have learned about this precise thing. The lawyer that calls the witness is only allowed to do direct examination. The definition of this is non-leading questions that do not suggest an answer. However, there are exceptions to this, and one of these exceptions, is one that Carolyn used. You can usually lead a child victim/witness.

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