'Cross-Examination' By Adesina Ogunlana

In the temple of justice, when you want to ferret out some facts or truths - truths unpleasant to your opponents, the minister you press to work is cross-examination. Truths as we all know, have a tendency of embarrassing us, beaming on us a penetrating search light of probity on our actions, inactions, even intentions and motives showing to the whole world our guilt and culpability.

A man said to be guilty of any infraction, particularly moral ones, is likened immediately to a toad - a smelly, dirty, ugly creature. When a man turns toad, society frowns on him and distances itself from his presence.

To avoid the pain and embarrassment of societal rejection and multiple sanctions, only very few people readily own up to their mis-deeds.
That is why, for example, a thief answers the name “Honest Joe,” a murderer may well be a doctor and a serial rapist can be found complaining of loss of libido. In short, people hardly confess to their true nature but may project the very opposite characteristics. Getting the truth therefore out of a person determined otherwise, especially in the hostile and combative atmosphere of the court room is quite an up-hill task. It is as easy as milking a roaring lioness!

Cross-examination is a game of wit, transcending mere intellectual keen-ness, but involving emotional stability, physical stamina and mastery of human and environment psychology. Even before the hunt (the cross-examination) starts both the hunter (cross-examiner) and the hunted (the cross-examinee) know what they both want. The hunter wants the game, the hunted wants to keep the game to himself, for all time.

Secondly, the hunted knows that great is his loss peradventure, the ‘game’ should be taken away from him, much to the great advantage of his opponent.

Thirdly, the hunted (though not always) comes prepared to thwart the ambition of the hunter. The hunted often has a coach, who would have sharpened his wits, boosted his confidence, brightened his eyes and armed him with an unseen roadmap to guide him away from the booby traps of the hunter.

When a cross-examiner faces a battle ready cross-examinee, the situation can be likened to a hungry lion facing a large mountain gorilla.
The result is unpredictable. So how can one most successfully overcome a witness of falsehood in the court-room?

Brute force, relentless charging, and direct attack hardly does the trick. To such tactics, the prepared witness has only one answer – flat, plausible denials.

I teach you a better way: marry the gentility of a dove with the sagacity of a serpent in handling your quarry. Your seeming foolishness and weakness would have done irreparable damage before Mr. Hunted realizes that the foundation of his castle of mendacity has sunk well below sea-level.
This is the “A-O-MERIN-JOBA theory of cross-examination. Sorry did you ask. “What is a o merin joba? Ask any true son or daughter of Adam, sorry, Oduduwa.