Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: procedure question

Generally speaking, you may not ask leading questions on direct. It is certainly better to ask the witness "Where do you work" or something along those lines. However, nobody would really object to this particular leading question, because where the witness works is an introductory background fact that is irrelevant to the dispute of the case.

That being said, "Establishing the credibility of the witness" is not a rational response to the objection. The fact is, the question is leading. Most judges would be annoyed at the objection, as it wastes time, but would ask counsel to rephrase.

Re: procedure question

Actually, neither position is correct. The objection - if there has to be one - is NOT that it's a leading question. It's that there is a lack of foundation. What the prosecution has to ask is: "how are you employed," followed up with "how long have you been employed in that capacity." Then, of course, they will go on with "were you working on (date)," "did anything unusual occur on that date," etc...etc...

Also, it's not a credibility-establishing question, but a fact question. Just because someone is a clerk (and, presumably, a witness) doesn't establish any credibility - all it establishes is that they're a clerk.

If anything, "position 1" is closer to being correct since at least they have hit on the right question to be asked. But realistically, you're probably better off not objecting to the question at all and focusing on what the witness has to say.

Hope this helps!