Remember that an otherwise stellar performance may be marred by a lawyer's awkward stumbling around the courtroom and failure to lay a simple foundation. Seasoned trial lawyers are masters at making polite objections and further befuddling an unprepared cross-examiner. Remember the ten commandments of cross-examination. You are not conducting a deposition. Many devastating answers are often buried in a lengthy, meaningless exchange of information between lawyer and witness.
Most lawyers believe that judges dislike redirect because it wastes time.
In actuality, however, it is the ineffective trial advocacy that frustrates judges. Courts consistently witness lawyers who weaken their case on redirect by unintentionally highlighting unfavorable evidence. It is frustrating for a judge to watch a lawyer reopen an area on redirect that was completely missed by her opponent on cross examination, giving the opposition an opportunity to leave the jury with a grenade explosion for a final impression. Judges are independent, fair and competent when they apply the laws that govern us. They are also human.