L'arte del controesame e le anomalie dell'Italian Style

The Art of Cross-examination and the Anomalies of the Italian Style - The first Italian edition of Francis L. Wellman’s famous work The Art of Cross- Examination is in the process of being published as we go to press. Presenting it to Italian readers, this article highlights the present-day pertinence of the book authored by a New York attorney more than a century ago. The result of his practical forensic experience and enriched by excerpts from the works of other eminent attorneys, the volume is a veritable goldmine of the rules to apply in building an effective counterbalance to the declarations of the witnesses fielded by the counterpart. As Wellman describes how to go about conducting a cross-examination without any particular order, this article compiles the various rules and classifies them in a triple sequence: how to prepare a cross-examination, how to formulate the questions and how to behave when listening to the witness’ testimony. The article closes with a comparison between the Anglo-American model and Italian practice. In the Italian style, the freedom of cross-examination is restricted by the interference of the judge, who refuses to play the passive role of a mere arbitrator. In addition, attorneys and prosecutors have not yet learned to perceive cross-examination as an activity that shapes the evidence for the purpose of convincing the judge.

Ennio Amodio, L'arte del controesame e le anomalie dell'Italian Style in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO " 2/2008, pp 155-168, DOI: