Lawyer: Ms. Martinez, you just testified that the bank robber was wearing a Texas 

Rangers hat, didn’t you?

Martinez: Yes.

Lawyer: And you also said that one of the two bank robbers dropped his hat when you

chased him out of the bank, isn’t that right?

Martinez: That’s correct.

Lawyer: Ms. Martinez, the hat left there that day was a Texas Rangers hat, wasn’t it?

Martinez: Yes.

Lawyer: No further questions.

I knew I had won my case the moment Martinez answered “yes” to that final question. Nowhere in the facts before me was there ever a mention that the hat left at the scene was a Texas Rangers ball cap. I didn’t actually care whether it was. I just needed the witness to say it was so. As I prepared the defense case for my client on trial for bank robbery, I strategized about the most misleading and suggestive way I could phrase the questions just so I could get a “yes” out of this witness. And with these three craftily worded questions, I had led this witness into giving me what I wanted. The trial ended with a hung jury and my client was free and clear. Victory.Read more