At all times, be cordial.  Though this is the enemy, the Court is a dignified place of professional confrontation.  It is not a fight in the school yard.  You may notice your lawyer being congenial and even friendly as he talks with the prosecutor outside the presence of the jury.  You must not get into the chatter.  
 

Are you thinking that you should testify on the stand?  Then answers to these qustions will be the key:  Have you ever been convicted of a felony crime or a misdemeanor or felony crime of perjury (lying under oath) or one of moral turpitude (a crime of theft or general dishonesty)?  That means a crime of theft or general dishonesty.  If you have been convicted of any of these things, your lawyer will ask:  “Have you ever been convicted of a crime that carries a possible penalty of imprisonment for a year or more in the State penitentiary?”  If you answer “yes” he will ask you, “How many times?”  If you give the honest answer the inquiry stops there, except that he will follow the same pattern as to crimes of perjury or moral turpitude and you must answer these honestly. 

The following scenario depicts events that occurred in an actual trial in Repeat Offender Court.  The defendant, over his counsel’s strenuous objection, asserted his Constitutional right to take the stand.  He was asked the proverbial question to which he answered, “Yes.”  Counsel asked how many and cringed as the defendant, almost with a prideful smile, stated in a loud and distinct voice, “17 convictions, Sir.”  Quite assuredly the jury thought, “If we err at all in our verdict, let it be on the side of sending this guy away for the rest of his life.”  Had he heeded his attorney's advice and not taken the stand, the verdict might have been in his favor.

If you have ever been treated for mental problems, as a general rule you shuld not take the stand.  Ask yourself this:  “Will my taking the stand and testifying have any chance of helping my case?”  If you believe it will, take a pad and write down ten ways your case will be helped.  Review that list with your lawyer before you make the mistake of taking the witness stand.  Also ask yourself how your testimony may hurt your chances of winning. 

If you choose to testify during the Defense’s case, you will have to be very specially trained to handle the prosecutor’s attack.  Here is a brief list of things to do should you decide to testify:
 

In the example below of an actual domestic violence trial, the verdict is the direct result of the defendant who was well trained by his counsel and followed that counsel's advice.  He sat calmly as the victim described how he came after her in the kitchen and stabbed her with a kitchen knife in her left arm.  He was calm and unemotional and permitted her to have her time testifying.  Once the State rested their case-in-chief, he took the stand.  He described how she had taken his whole paycheck and refused to cook him dinner night after night.  He was left with her kids as she would go out partying and leave them alone with no food or companionship.  When it came time for him to describe the assault, he did so exquisitely.  He became visibly distressed.  He was crying as he described how she was yelling and relentlessly cursing at him.  She ran after him punching him and he never retaliated.  She was so angry that she grabbed two large kitchen knives and began swinging them at him as he tried to talk her down into calmness for the children’s sake.  The defendant rose to his feet in the jury box and portrayed the events as he was emotionally reliving them in his mind.  She ran at him and he grabbed her arms to stop her but she pulled away and cut herself just before she thrust the other knife into his left side.  His hospital records supported his side of the story as did the officer that made the arrest.  The jury found him not guilty.  He had been prepared well for his performance during the drama of his trial. 

 

In summary, always stay cool in the Theater of Justice.  Whether you are relating to the prosecutor or the confrontation witnesses, let calm and confidence always prevail.  Remember two old adages:  never fight out of anger and wait your turn.