to repeat and emphasize his testimony given on direct 
examination; (4) asking any question which will give the 
opposing counsel opportunity to bring out on reexamina¬ 
tion some unfavorable testimony which would not have 
been admissible but for the injudicious question put 
during the cross-examination. 
It is well to learn all you can about the history of the 
witness you expect to cross-examine, as facts concerning 
his life or previous activities may enable you either to 
discredit his testimony or to bring out facts to help your 
own case. The main idea of the cross-examination is to 
discover the weak point or points in the witness to be 
cross-examined. If the witness has, on direct examination, 
told a story which is known to be or is evidently fabricated, 
such fabrication can not be exposed by taking the witness 
step by step over the story as he told it on direct examina¬ 
tion; but it may be done either by beginning to cross- 
examine concerning facts outside the story, or by skip¬ 
ping back and forth from one point in the story to an¬ 
other, or both, in order to disconnect his fabricated train 
of thought, if possible. 
If a defendant denies on the stand a confession intro¬ 
duced by your witnesses, his signed confession may be 
introduced in rebuttal, first having laid the foundation by 
asking the defendant if he did not sign a confession. If 
he denies the confession and signature, the following 
procedure may be adopted. First, appear to pass over 
the matter; then later casually ask the defendant to write 
on paper a number of apparently meaningless words, such 
as “cat, dog, car, land, stone.” Some of the words in¬ 
cluded, however, are words whose initial letters, and cer¬ 
tain syllables in them, are the same as corresponding 
elements in the defendant’s signature. At the end he is 
asked to sign his name. If he has written his usual 
signature, it is then immediately introduced for com¬ 
parison by the jury with his signature appearing at the 
close of the confession. If he has been shrewd enough to 
suspect a ruse, and has disguised his signature to the list 
of words, this fact can be demonstrated by comparing the 
signature with the corresponding syllables and letters 
