As the defense lawyers have been roasting the plaintiff in the sexual aggression trial for five former world players of Junior Hockey, they have commented several times that he had clearly been well prepared for the procedures in London, Ontario.
It is alleged that EM, the name used in the Court since its identity is protected by a standard publication prohibition, was sexually attacked in June 2018 in a hotel in the city of the southwest of Ontario. Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Gart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Footo, who later took races at the NHL but are not currently in the league, declared themselves innocent.
On May 5, David Humphrey, McLeod’s lawyer, began to interrogate the past accounts of that night. Two days later, Hart’s lawyer, Megan Savard, began his interrogation, and Formenton’s lawyer Daniel Brown, picked up questions on Thursday afternoon.
CBC asked legal experts how lawyers prepare witnesses as EM for long interrogation. They explained that the process begins long before the test.
‘As exams at the University’
The headquarters under Toronto, Jacob Jesin, has prepared witnesses for high -risk cases for years.
“This is not something that has done one or two weeks, or even a few days before,” said Jesus. “It’s like exams like university.”
Jesus said that witnesses should start preparing weeks and, sometimes, months in advance, particularly if there are many materials, such as previous claim statements or affidavits.
Dawne Way, a Toronto headquarters who often works with demanding sexual assistance, said that if there is a high volume of evidence, a series of meetings structure to review those materials with the witness.
“When I make a preparation with a plaintiff, I usually do a simulated chief exam where I intend to be the crown lawyer and ask them to say what happened, and then I also make a simulated interrogation in which I intend to be a defense lawyer,” Way said.
Way and Jesus generally advise witnesses to keep their answers short, and they really take their time and think about the questions asked, although he acknowledged that sometimes witnesses will try to inject their answers with part of their own narrative.
Jesus said he also likes to review the most subtle behavior with his clients.
“Things like behavior, body language, your writing choice can make it look more credible or less credible,” he said.
Importance of composure
Emotions can be high in a criminal trial, so it is important to talk to customers about the maintenance of composure, said Jesus.
“Make sure that, for example, do not get angry, don’t get defensive, that will not help your case regardless of what side is,” he said.
“You must be careful that you can think that you are like a witness of punctuation points with a sarcastic comment or retreating against the lawyer. That may seem very bad to a jury or a judge who looks at it objectively from the side of the room.”
WARNING: The video contains disturbing details | The plaintiff in a trial of sexual aggression of several former world players of Hockey Junior said during the interrogation that she was surprised by surprise when several players entered the hotel room after she had consensual sex. The woman, known as EM, was challenged in her memory, reactions and if she adopted a ‘porn star person’ as an coping tool.
The long interrogation with multiple lawyers can be exhausting, said Christopher Sherrin, a law professor at the Western University in London.
“Exhaustion can be established, confusion can be established, because they may have asked similar questions or even the same question before,” he said.
At the same time, said Sherrin, an interrogation too intense can be counterproductive.
“I have seen what happens where a witness is interrogated to such an extent that it can actually recover against the interrogator or the questions as a group in the sense that, or for the reason that people begin to feel sorry for the witness.”
Even so, being under a long interrogation can be confused and isolate for a witness.
They can be asked, as happened to them, that they leave the courtroom several times a day without explanation and they are prohibited from discussing their case with their lawyers.
“You cannot, during the interrogation, discuss the evidence of the witness with the witness. Therefore, the crown could not talk to the plaintiff about how she answered questions or more questions that could be arising. All that stays out of the limits,” said Sherrin.
Way said that it helps to explain to a witness why it is important not to discuss evidence while under the interrogation.
“No one wants their evidence to be contaminated and we want the trial to continue successfully. We do not want some kind of mental application or something, or that they question the credibility because someone thinks that they may have discussed something with the advice or with another person.”
It is also the reason why Way encourages customers to ensure that they have significant support from their family and friends or a therapist while passing through the test process.
Prepare a risk
On the other hand, there is always the risk of preparing a witness excessively, said Sherrin.
“If the potential lines continue to review through the exam and question them again and again, when the question is really asked in the court, their answer seems rooted and rehearsed and, therefore, it is not credible,” he said.
You can prepare a witness, but that is not a guarantee that it will make a difference, said Sherrin.
“Like if you practice sports, you know, you can practice everything you want. It is different when you really leave the court, or on the ice or whatever and play,” he said.
