Cross Examination

The Importance of Cross-Examination

• Establishes credibility--The dialogue and head to head dynamic create an unique opportunity for the judge to form an opinion about you as a debater and for you to win their trust.

• Establishes clarity• Establishes cracks• Lighten your partner’s load (1AR) and creates

prep time. • You are not Matlock

Body Language

• Stand poised next to your opponent

• Ask question to opponent and then turn and face judge for an answer

• Don’t bury your head in your notes

• Don’t stand quietly taking more notes

• Don’t walk behind your opponent and start talking to their partner

• Don’t play with pens, timers, etc

Prepare ahead of time

• Identify what you are going to win the debate on—what are your major args that prove the plan is a good or bad idea?

• What evidence or arguments of your opponents help prove any of these positions?

• What questions best lead them to reveal this to the judge?

• Answer these questions before the round and you will have good cx

Kinds of questions

• Don’t ask—– Statements.– Open ended, general

questions– Compound or qualified

questions– About dropped

arguments– Rude questions

• Do ask—– Leading questions– Questions that limit– Questions to clarify– Questions that conceal– Questions that repeat– Questions that impose

extra burdens– Questions you know

the answer to

Categories of questions

• Evidence questions– Credibility including author’s quals, date,

source, length, etc– Consistency including how it fits with other ev

in the 1AC or DA– Assumptions including whether the non

underlined parts point out weaknesses or problems or other root causes or forms of solvency

Value Questions

• What is the nature of your value?

• How should your value be viewed? Through a Utilitarian or deontological framework?

• Does your value lead to other benefits?

• Why should be we use your value when other countries or cultures have an entirely different set of values?

• Daisy: What does your evidence from Hays Watson in 1998 say?

• John: It says that the Death Penalty works very well and that there is very little evidence of innocent people being executed in the US….

Fishing

• Daisy: So your Hays Watson evidence that claims that the death penalty isn’t unjust is from 1998, correct?

• John: Yes! • Daisy: Which means it is impossible that it

includes all of the studies done after 1998 that revealed the huge number of innocents that have been executed, correct?

• John: Um….Yes.

Directing

Fishing

• John: So…what does your first advantage say?

• Nate: It says that increasing our health assistance to Africa will help solve a number of diseases including malaria and AIDs and that only our plan will save the lives of millions of innocent children….

Directing

• John: Would you please read to the judge the non underlined part of your second solvency card?

• Nate: It says that “serious infrastructure changes must be made before the AIDs epidemic can be addressed.”

• John: and your plan doesn’t provide any funding for infrastructural improvements like improved hospitals or communcation systems, does it?

• Nate: Well, no.

Fishing

• Eddie: What is Utilitarianism?

• Hays: Well, it is my criterion and it is the most effective way to determine morality because it allows us to view the greatest good for the greatest number of people and really is the most fair system of evaluating the morality of an action.

Directing• Eddie: Utilitarianism is your criterion, correct? • Hays: Yes. • Eddie: And you support Jeremy Bentham’s explanation

of utilitarianism?• Hays: Um…what? • Eddie: Well you quote Bentham describing utilitarianism,

right? • Hays: Oh, Yes. • Eddie: How do you reconcile Bentham’s use of ethical

egoism with your own value of Justice? I mean, if Bentham says each individual should only assess what is most favorable for them personally, how does that achieve Justice for the whole society if everyone does what they want to do?

• Hays: Um……

Maintaining Control

• Choose questions carefully• Politely cut off your opponent• Repeat the same question or

ask another question• Never answer a question they

ask you• Remind them that it is your

cross-ex• Back off and let the judge

take care of it• Remember that the judge

remembers being crossed themselves

Answering Questions

• Direct and reasonable• Be willing to admit

ignorance• Qualify answers first• Take advantage of

open ended questions

• Ask for clarification• Point out irrelevant

questions

Use what you get from cross ex in your speech!