Leading questions are most likely to accomplish which of the following on direct examination?

Leading questions are most likely to accomplish which of the following on direct examination?

• A. Request a narrative answer
• B. Suggest the answer desired by the examiner
• C. Require a yes/no answer
• D. Be irrelevant

Answer: (B)

Direct examination aims to hear the witness tell their story in their own words, with open-ended questions that invite explanation and detail. A leading question is phrased in a way that suggests the answer or includes the answer in the question itself, nudging the witness toward a specific response. Because of that, leading questions on direct are most likely to coax the witness to echo the examiner’s preferred answer rather than letting the witness freely recount events. That’s why the best choice is that leading questions suggest the answer the examiner wants. They’re not primarily about getting a long narrative, and while they can sometimes elicit a brief yes or no, their defining characteristic on direct is steering the testimony toward a particular conclusion. They also aren’t about irrelevance, since they’re focused on pushing a particular response.

Direct examination aims to hear the witness tell their story in their own words, with open-ended questions that invite explanation and detail. A leading question is phrased in a way that suggests the answer or includes the answer in the question itself, nudging the witness toward a specific response. Because of that, leading questions on direct are most likely to coax the witness to echo the examiner’s preferred answer rather than letting the witness freely recount events.

That’s why the best choice is that leading questions suggest the answer the examiner wants. They’re not primarily about getting a long narrative, and while they can sometimes elicit a brief yes or no, their defining characteristic on direct is steering the testimony toward a particular conclusion. They also aren’t about irrelevance, since they’re focused on pushing a particular response.