examination legal definition

In litigation, the questioning of a witness under oath, either at trial or in a deposition; the Patent and Trademark Office investigation into the validity of a patent application.

The questioning of a witness by a lawyer or other party other than the one who called that person, with respect to matters about which the witness has testified during direct examination.

A witnessÂ’s initial questioning by the lawyer who called that person, in order to introduce matters of fact in a case. Leading questions should be avoided by the attorney conducting direct examination.

Questioning of a witness by the party who called that witness, following cross examination, to attempt to clarify or rebut any damaging testimony that might have come out during cross examination. Normally, redirect, as it is also known, is limited to the scope of the subject matter examined in cross examination, although the judge may make an exception.