Luck is the residue of design. You get a great cross when you are prepared and your opponent is not.
We have come across some remarkable cross examination in the Rittenhouse trial. The prosecutor called the one witness who was shot and survived. He was a paramedic. The prosecutor takes the witness through his encounter with Rittenhouse. The witness testifies that when Rittenhouse pointed his gun at him he raised his hands. He also testifies about Rittenhouse racking his weapon, which the witness testifies was an indication that Rittenhouse was preparing his weapon to fire again.
We candidly admit we have not seen the entire direct and therefore our criticism of the prosecution may not be fully correct. But what comes out on cross examination is both shocking and devastating to the prosecution.
The witness chased Rittenhouse down the street. And while there was an encounter when Rittenhouse pointed his gun at the witness and the witness raised his hands, Rittenhouse only shot the witness WHEN THE WITNESS LOWERED HIS HANDS, PRODUCED HIS OWN HANDGUN AND AIMED IT AT RITTENHOUSE.
It is a shocking moment, and a moment of cross examination not many lawyers ever get. What we do not know is whether the prosecution brought these facts out on cross examination. The video clip we have seen is clearly edited and it is just not clear what the jury knew before cross examination.
But the direct is fairly powerful for the prosecution...until cross examination began, which shows the power of cross examination and the reason for cross examination in our system.
Of course sometimes your opponent does your work for you. The prosecutor called a witness who saw Rittenhouse shoot and kill Joseph Rosenbaum. The witness, a videographer, was clearly a hostile witness. There came a point when the prosecutor pushed the witness to admit he had no idea what Rosembaum was thinking when he grabbed Rittenhouse's gun before Rittenhouse shot and killed him. To which the witness responded: "Well, he said fuck you and then grabbed the gun."
Ouch.
This the Newsweek article that has the clip of the direct and cross.