legal-terms
What is &#39;Cross&#39; about Cross-Examination? Why was it chosen?
<p>Source: <a href="https://store.lexisnexis.ca/en/categories/shop-by-jurisdiction/ontario-10/ontario-small-claims-court-a-practical-guide-skusku-cad-00935/details" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Ontario Small Claims Court - A Practical Guide</em></a> (2011), p. 12.</p>
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<p>(ii) Cross-examination of the Plaintiff</p>
<p><strong>§1.32</strong> Following the direct examination of the plaintiff, the defendant or his
representative may then embark upon an examination of the plaintiff with
two principal objectives in mind: either the destruction of the plaintiff's case
through plaintiff's admissions or the advancement of the defendant's case,
again through admissions. The defendant's examination of the plaintiff is
called &quot;cross-examination&quot; or &quot;cross-questioning&quot;. The scope of the cross-
examination are the issues in the case. The defendant's representative, there-
fore, may ask the plaintiff questions that relate to all matters at issue in the
proceedings.</p>
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<p>Abbreviate Cross Examination to CE. What motivated the choice of 'Cross'?</p>
<p>My guess: In a CE, the witness is not on the questioning lawyer's side, and so the lawyer must ask only questions that elicit a 'Yes/No' answer, to forestall any dodging by the witness. So the 'cross-' apparently suggests antipathy or enmity.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>So the 'cross-' apparently suggests antipathy or enmity.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>In a CE, the witness is not on the questioning lawyer's side</p>
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<p>Here is your answer.  To get to the other side of something, such as a street or a river, one must cross it.  It is cross-examination because the witness had been called by the other side.</p>
