During a hearing or trial, witnesses and the accused (in a criminal trial) may be called to testify or tell the court what they know about something that happened. Each party will call its own witnesses to support its side of the case. The time during the hearing when the lawyer for the opposing side is given a chance to question the other party’s witnesses, is called “cross-examination”. During the “cross-examination”, the opposing lawyer often tries to poke holes in the witness’ story or tries to show the witness is not credible (i.e. the witness is not telling the truth).