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Christian Counseling Connection
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CLINICAL PRACTICE
To Tell the Truth... and Nothing More!
David B. Hawkins, ACSW, Ph.D.
FROM
COUCH
TO
COURT
I once heard an attorney sarcastically refer to his colleague, “He
gets paid by the word.”
You would need to have been there to fully appreciate this
remark, but trust me… he was right! The attorney he refer-
enced was verbose and seemed to like hearing himself wax
eloquent.
To be fair, I have been guilty of the same thing. I once be-
lieved that I had the privilege, even the right, to speak forth on
the witness stand. When asked a question, I thought it was an
opportunity to hear myself offer a compelling monologue on
something I had written, or a topic about which I considered
myself an expert. I had a captive audience after all, and this
was a chance to fill the room with my words.
It didn’t take long, however, for the attorney who hired me
to set me straight. “Look, Dr. Hawkins, the more you share in a
deposition or in the courtroom, the more information the other
side has to review what you’ve said and catch you in some
contradiction.”
“But what if there are no contradictions?” I asked.
He continued, “I don’t think you understand the process.
Even if they can’t find a contradiction, they will find something
to discredit you. They will find something that is not fully sup-
ported by the literature, your colleagues, or the latest research.
They
will
find something. Trust me.”
I protested. “I know what I’m talking about and want to
share it with the court. What I’ve written is important to share.
You’ve called me to be an expert witness and I want to show
the court I am that expert.”
At this point, I could see the attorney becoming exasper-
ated with me. He paused and cleared his throat. “I don’t think
you understand,” he continued. “I know you know what you’re
talking about. You
are
an expert and that’s why I’ve called
you. However, the more you say, the greater the opportunity
for cross-examination to challenge your testimony. The more
opposing counsel confronts you, the more likely you are to
become rattled and say something you will later regret, and
which could undermine the case we are trying to make. Trust
me. Tell the truth and nothing more!”
The attorney’s words caused me to sit back and reflect. I
had to consider the truth of what he was saying. The more I
thought about it, the more I realized Scripture supports this
idea. The Apostle James advises, “… be quick to listen, slow to
speak” (1:19). Solomon advises, “Do not be quick with your
mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before
God. God is in heaven and you are on the earth, so let your
words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).