3 ms·

Is it illegal for a witness to withhold knowledge? I.e., saying "I don't remember" in regards to facts that they somehow can be proven to know?

• toyg 5y ago
  It's not an absolute principle. It obviously depends on the country, but also on the type of trial (civil, criminal...), down to the particular type of issue being considered and the position of the witness in the dynamic.
• GavinMcG 5y ago
  In general, in this setting, yes. The English (and thereby American) legal traditions assume a right "to every man's evidence" and depositions are taken under oath. An actual perjury charge is extremely unlikely, but the judge the case is assigned to could hold a witness in contempt for persistently refusing to play ball. In reality, though, what the deposing side needs is to know what facts the witness will testify to, or alternatively, to be able to show that the witness can't be trusted. So if they can prove that the witness lied, it's likely sufficient for their purposes to just show that at trial and thereby discredit the witness.
• leetcrew 5y ago
  how can you prove that someone knows something? if you could, presumably you wouldn't need to question them about that thing.
  • i_like_waiting 5y ago
    by other questions that imply that very simplified example: have you drove your car from pub? don't remember were you in a morning at 6 Random street? Yes 5 mins later... Did you took a taxi? No sir, I came by car Can anybody confirm that for you? No, I was driving alone It would be probably more elaborate questions, but you get the idea