Jeff Sher interview 18 November 2009

I used to love cross-examination. I think preparation is the key, but you've also got to have a good technique and without being immodest, I think I was a good cross-examiner because I just wouldn't accept waffly evasive answers. I would keep drilling as it were, and keep asking questions. I once did a case in which the plaintiff who was a maniac, madman, wouldn't answer questions and I had to cross-examine this guy for either eight or ten weeks and every morning I'd have to give myself a little talking to, not to lose my cool, and on about week seven, I finally lost my cool with this guy and said to him, "Would you stop treating us all like we're fools, Mr So-and-So?" The trial judge interrupted and said, "If anyone's going to say that, Mr Sher, it will be me". But you've got to make sure you don't let people off the hook, you can cross-examine them too long. In this extraordinary case where I cross-examined for eight to ten weeks, it wasn't too long - I just had to do it. But if you've got to ask the question, you ask the question, and you've got to keep pursuing people sometimes, keep asking what, when, why, how, who and it's amazing what answers you get.

Just as an aside, there's been a little bit of stuff written recently about jury inattentiveness. Was that ever an issue for you when you were appearing for people? Did you ever feel a sense of juries getting restless when, for example, you were questioning that maniac that you were referred to a moment ago?

It wasn't in front of a jury and I can tell you, the judge was getting restless, we all were, the fellow drove us all mad. Look, I can't say that I really felt that juries weren't paying attention in the cases that I did before them, but I can say that I think there are advocates who have the capacity to bore people - whoever they are - absolutely witless and I think that's got to be watched. Without naming any names, there was a case, a criminal case, which mis-tried and it had to be repeated, and what counsel for the prosecution did was to read the transcript from the previous case to the jury for days. He just stood in front of them reading the transcript which was tendered as part of the evidence for days. Well, nobody could stand that.

Conducted for the Victorian Bar oral history project by Juliette Brodsky, and filmed by Stewart Carter on 18 November 2009