My Question Framework
Bias & Credibility Key Points 2/2
Bias & Credibility Key Points
Foundation & RapportKey Points
Event SpecificKey Points
- Step-by-step account (before, during, and after)
- All senses(what they saw, heard, felt)
- How others were behaving and feeling (based on observations, not assumptions!)
- Who else was present (Names and leads)
- Rumors (before or after the event)
- Speculation (thoughts and impressions)
- Evidence (emails, texts, photos, videos, etc)
- Whether the witness was or is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- Physical or mental conditions that could affect memory or perception.
- Emotional state or distractions at the time of the incident.
- Clarity and consistency of their memory.
- Conflicting accounts or inconsistencies with known facts.
- Confirm identity
- Build trust
- Learn their connections to the people involved.
- Understand their role in the case.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Foundation & Rapport Questions
Event Specific Questions
- Outside influence from others, media, or social pressure.
- Personal, emotional, or financial stakes in the case.
- Their relationships with people involved and how it affects what they say.
- Discomfort, pressure, or hesitation in sharing what they know.
Bias & Credibility Questions
Title
Title
Title
Confirm identity and build trust.
Assess reliability.
Build the narrative.
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Next
See Transcript
My Question Framework
Charge Specific Key Points
Catch-All, Wrap Up & Hail MarysKey Points
Bias & Credibility Key Points 2/2
Statements & Case InteractionsKey Points
- Additional details the witness remembers but hasn’t shared.
- Any evidence (texts, photos, videos, etc.) that could clarify the situation.
- Clarifications or corrections to earlier statements.
- Anything the witness thinks you should know but haven’t asked.
- Openness to follow-up contact if needed.
- Collecting or confirming contact information for future outreach or subpoena.
- Providing your contact information or business card.
- One to three “Hail Mary” questions and your top priority among them.
- Details on communication with law enforcement, media, attorneys, or investigators.
- The content of any prior statements and whether they were asked to sign anything.
- Evidence given to law enforcement.
- Outside presence during interviews or conversations.
- LEO documentation of interview (notes, audio recording, signed statement)
- Changes or inconsistencies in their account over time.
- Details on police procedures. Photo lineups or identification procedures.
- Details on contact with witnesses, client, or complaining witness
- What the complaining witness wants to see happen with the case
- Discussions with friends, family, media, or other witnesses.
- Suggestions, encouragement, advice or pressure from law enforcement, attorneys, or other parties.
- What the witness personally observed that connects to the alleged offense.
- Details that support or challenge each element of the charge.
- Circumstances leading up to the incident and who initiated them.
- The nature and severity of any harm or loss.
- Whether any weapon, object, tool, method, or force was used or implied.
- Whether anyone attempted to intervene, de-escalate, or defend themselves.
- Circumstances that clarify intent, knowledge, or role.
- Conditions that increase or decrease the seriousness of the offense under the law
- Factors that suggest defenses or alternative explanations.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Statements & Case Interactions
Catch-All, Wrap Up & Hail Marys
Charge Specific Questions
Track the witness’s contact with other parties.
Title
Title
Title
Questions to ask near the end.
Address direct knowledge.
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Foundation & Rapport Transcript
The first thing to do is to make sure you have the right person. Then, move on to rapport-building questions. This usually starts with “softball questions” that are easy to answer and won’t upset anyone. It gets your witness used to the flow of the conversation before you get into the hard stuff. So you can ask about how they know people, whether they’ve talked to anyone about the case since it happened, and so on. You could even engage in small talk about the weather, pets, decor, and so on.
Event Specific
Transcript:Treat the incident like a movie. Get all the details so you can visualize every aspect of it from the witness’s perspective: what they saw, heard, felt, smelled, as well as their experience of the whole incident before, during, and after. It is essential that you are able to sequence the events according to the witness by the time you’re done.
Foundation & Rapport
Transcript:The first thing to do is to make sure you have the right person. Then, move on to rapport-building questions. This usually starts with “softball questions” that are easy to answer and won’t upset anyone. It gets your witness used to the flow of the conversation before you get into the hard stuff. So you can ask about how they know people, whether they’ve talked to anyone about the case since it happened, and so on. You could even engage in small talk about the weather, pets, decor, and so on.
Bias & Credibility
Transcript:Here, you're digging into things that could affect a witness’s memory, perception, or motives. Be on the lookout for any conditions or impairments that could impact their ability to see or remember, like illness, drugs, or disability. You may have to inquire, so just keep in mind that this is delicate. And you’ll be weaving these types of questions strategically and carefully, to keep rapport solid. You’ll also cover inconsistencies, but be sure to figure out beforehand how you’re going to clarify inconsistencies without making an enemy.
Case Statements & Interactions
Transcript:When you're asking a witness about their past interactions with police or prosecutors, you're not just gathering a timeline or identifying different statements a witness made, you’re also checking for red flags. It’s common to have missteps in identification procedures, like officers giving suggestive cues in photo lineups. They may pressure witnesses, ask leading questions, or give them information from other witnesses. Police reports may also misrepresent what was actually said, often, excluding details that don’t fit their narrative or might be helpful to the defense. Contamination can come from friends, family, or co-workers influencing someone’s memory. People involved in the same event may unconsciously align their stories over time. Even media coverage can affect what someone thinks they remember. That’s why it’s important to ask not just what was said, but how those conversations happened and what might have shaped the witness’s memory or confidence.
Charge Specific
Transcript: This is what it all comes down to: what does the witness actually know about the charges? Charge-specific questions test whether their account supports the prosecution’s elements or challenges them. You do this by breaking down the charges element by element. Even small details like whether your client acted intentionally or knowingly can make a huge difference in negotiations or in how a jury sees the case. To an untrained eye those may look like minor points, but they’re the building blocks of the government’s case. This is also your chance to frame questions around the defense strategy, looking for facts that support other defenses or alternative explanations.
Catch-All, Wrap Up & Hail Marys
Transcript:This category is a little miscellaneous. It’s for questions you might ask as you wrap up an interview, or for questions that belong nowhere else. It’s also for those mission-critical questions that you must get an answer to. If you sense that someone is likely to slam the door in your face very soon, what’s the one question that you need an answer to? Usually, we prepare three of these critical questions, and we identify the top one. They are always in our back pocket, ready to go. And even if the interview does not get shut down, it’s good to know that these are the questions you must have an answer to before you walk out.
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AKI Investigative Expert Method
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Transcript
My Question Framework
Bias & Credibility Key Points 2/2
Bias & Credibility Key Points
Foundation & RapportKey Points
Event SpecificKey Points
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Foundation & Rapport Questions
Event Specific Questions
Bias & Credibility Questions
Title
Title
Title
Confirm identity and build trust.
Assess reliability.
Build the narrative.
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Next
See Transcript
My Question Framework
Charge Specific Key Points
Catch-All, Wrap Up & Hail MarysKey Points
Bias & Credibility Key Points 2/2
Statements & Case InteractionsKey Points
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Statements & Case Interactions
Catch-All, Wrap Up & Hail Marys
Charge Specific Questions
Track the witness’s contact with other parties.
Title
Title
Title
Questions to ask near the end.
Address direct knowledge.
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Foundation & Rapport Transcript
The first thing to do is to make sure you have the right person. Then, move on to rapport-building questions. This usually starts with “softball questions” that are easy to answer and won’t upset anyone. It gets your witness used to the flow of the conversation before you get into the hard stuff. So you can ask about how they know people, whether they’ve talked to anyone about the case since it happened, and so on. You could even engage in small talk about the weather, pets, decor, and so on.
Event Specific
Transcript:Treat the incident like a movie. Get all the details so you can visualize every aspect of it from the witness’s perspective: what they saw, heard, felt, smelled, as well as their experience of the whole incident before, during, and after. It is essential that you are able to sequence the events according to the witness by the time you’re done.
Foundation & Rapport
Transcript:The first thing to do is to make sure you have the right person. Then, move on to rapport-building questions. This usually starts with “softball questions” that are easy to answer and won’t upset anyone. It gets your witness used to the flow of the conversation before you get into the hard stuff. So you can ask about how they know people, whether they’ve talked to anyone about the case since it happened, and so on. You could even engage in small talk about the weather, pets, decor, and so on.
Bias & Credibility
Transcript:Here, you're digging into things that could affect a witness’s memory, perception, or motives. Be on the lookout for any conditions or impairments that could impact their ability to see or remember, like illness, drugs, or disability. You may have to inquire, so just keep in mind that this is delicate. And you’ll be weaving these types of questions strategically and carefully, to keep rapport solid. You’ll also cover inconsistencies, but be sure to figure out beforehand how you’re going to clarify inconsistencies without making an enemy.
Case Statements & Interactions
Transcript:When you're asking a witness about their past interactions with police or prosecutors, you're not just gathering a timeline or identifying different statements a witness made, you’re also checking for red flags. It’s common to have missteps in identification procedures, like officers giving suggestive cues in photo lineups. They may pressure witnesses, ask leading questions, or give them information from other witnesses. Police reports may also misrepresent what was actually said, often, excluding details that don’t fit their narrative or might be helpful to the defense. Contamination can come from friends, family, or co-workers influencing someone’s memory. People involved in the same event may unconsciously align their stories over time. Even media coverage can affect what someone thinks they remember. That’s why it’s important to ask not just what was said, but how those conversations happened and what might have shaped the witness’s memory or confidence.
Charge Specific
Transcript: This is what it all comes down to: what does the witness actually know about the charges? Charge-specific questions test whether their account supports the prosecution’s elements or challenges them. You do this by breaking down the charges element by element. Even small details like whether your client acted intentionally or knowingly can make a huge difference in negotiations or in how a jury sees the case. To an untrained eye those may look like minor points, but they’re the building blocks of the government’s case. This is also your chance to frame questions around the defense strategy, looking for facts that support other defenses or alternative explanations.
Catch-All, Wrap Up & Hail Marys
Transcript:This category is a little miscellaneous. It’s for questions you might ask as you wrap up an interview, or for questions that belong nowhere else. It’s also for those mission-critical questions that you must get an answer to. If you sense that someone is likely to slam the door in your face very soon, what’s the one question that you need an answer to? Usually, we prepare three of these critical questions, and we identify the top one. They are always in our back pocket, ready to go. And even if the interview does not get shut down, it’s good to know that these are the questions you must have an answer to before you walk out.