A Milwaukee County judge decided that a 27-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison for orchestrating killings in a witness intimidation case.

Question. Pause. Answer. Stop. That’s the unnatural rhythm of the witness environment. And there are rules for witnesses during the first three steps.

In past columns, I’ve talked about the “10 Rules” for witnesses as a way to help bridge the wide gap between normal conversation and communicating in a witness environment. The first is easy and natural; the second is difficult and unnatural — and treacherous. The language, rhythm and goals of each are very different.

Tell your witness: Get off your stage and talk with people, as a real person. It can be hard to do, but it is necessary.

Don’t just tell witnesses to be polite. Tell them to be relentlessly polite.

One of the most important functions of the "fact finder" in a judicial proceeding is to determine the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence.

2011AP1086 In re the estate of Floyd Heck