Difference between revisions of "India Criminal Defense Manual - Client Interview"
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| − | === | + | ===Bail=== |
What finances do you have for bail? | What finances do you have for bail? | ||
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| − | == | + | == Asking Questions == |
===1. Open and Closed Questions=== | ===1. Open and Closed Questions=== | ||
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LISTEN ATTENTIVELY | LISTEN ATTENTIVELY | ||
| − | Listening intently requires discipline and practice. Listening, unlike | + | Listening intently requires discipline and practice. Listening, unlike hearing, is not automatic. Listening to a witness answer questions during an interview is entirely different from listening to friends chat. In social settings, you are able to multitask while listening to a friend; for example, while formulating a response, you might also be observing your surroundings or having an internal dialogue that has nothing to do with the other person. During an interview, however, you need to focus on listening to your witness with total concentration and must really pay attention to what they are saying, instead of formulating the next question, looking around the room, or figuring out how the witness' account fits into your theory of the case. |
| − | hearing, is not automatic. Listening to a witness answer questions during | ||
| − | an interview is entirely different from listening to friends chat. In social | ||
| − | settings, you are able to multitask while listening to a friend; for example, | ||
| − | while formulating a response, you might also be observing your | ||
| − | surroundings or having an internal dialogue that has nothing to do with | ||
| − | the other person. During an interview, however, you need to focus on | ||
| − | listening to your witness with total concentration and must really pay | ||
| − | attention to what they are saying, instead of formulating the next question, | ||
| − | looking around the room, or figuring out how the witness' account fits | ||
| − | into your theory of the case. | ||
'''LISTEN WITH AN OPEN MIND''' | '''LISTEN WITH AN OPEN MIND''' | ||
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Communication between any two people is a complicated process that can lead to both trivial and serious misunderstandings. During an interview, everyone communicates, receives and decodes information, and misunderstandings are liable to occur at every stage of the process. Since every piece of information is based on any previous information, any miscommunication that is not addressed will have long-term consequences. It is essential that you, the interviewer, confirm that the witness understands your questions and that you understand his answers. In the following example, the interviewer is checking to see if he and the witness are discussing the same thing, because they each give different meanings to a word: | Communication between any two people is a complicated process that can lead to both trivial and serious misunderstandings. During an interview, everyone communicates, receives and decodes information, and misunderstandings are liable to occur at every stage of the process. Since every piece of information is based on any previous information, any miscommunication that is not addressed will have long-term consequences. It is essential that you, the interviewer, confirm that the witness understands your questions and that you understand his answers. In the following example, the interviewer is checking to see if he and the witness are discussing the same thing, because they each give different meanings to a word: | ||
| − | {|border="1" cellpadding=" | + | {|border="1" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" align="center" |
|- | |- | ||
!Witness | !Witness | ||
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| + | In this example, the witness has a specific meaning for the word "beat" (hitting using one's fists) that the interviewer needed to clarify. | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''REFLECTING''' | ||
| + | |||
| + | Reflective dialogue, or mirroring, is the immediate repetition of part of the conversation, which allows what has just been said to be adjusted or confirmed. | ||
| + | |||
| + | {|border="1" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" align="center" | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | !Witness | ||
| + | !Interviewer | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |I never knew my father. Well, I kind of did, but that was later. I met him once with my cousin, and she said, that's your father | ||
| + | |You didn't grow up with your father? | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |Right, he never even saw me | ||
| + | | Who told you that your father never saw you as a baby? | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |My mom | ||
| + | |But your family knew who he was | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |Oh yes, they knew. Of course they knew. Only I didn't know. | ||
| + | |You said you met him with your cousin? | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |Yes, once in Murshidabad. | ||
| + | |Tell me about that. | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Conclusion == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Interviewing requires mutual communication. Although your goal is to gather information, you, the interviewer, are also unconsciously and consciously communicating a great deal of information to the witnesses through your words, your clothing, your body language and facial expressions, and the types of questions you ask. It is essential that you refrain from using judgmental or critical language, whether verbal or non- verbal. | ||
| + | ---- | ||
| + | See [[India | India Criminal Defense Manual]] | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
