Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Pass the witness: When people are in a courtroom, they ask questions to find out what happened. When one person finishes asking questions, they say "pass the witness" to let the other person start asking questions. It's like passing a ball in a game.
Definition: Pass the witness is a phrase used in a courtroom by a lawyer to indicate the end of their questioning and the beginning of the other side's questioning. It is also known as "take the witness" or "your witness".
In this example, Lawyer 1 has finished questioning the witness and passes the witness to Lawyer 2, who then begins their questioning.
In this example, instead of using the phrase "pass the witness", the judge prompts the other side to begin their questioning by asking if they have any questions for the witness.