Questioning in common law criminal courts

Questions in everyday discourse consist of a situated exchange in which the questioner and answerer are in a roughly symmetrical relationship in which each is entitled to request information from the other. Questioners typically do not have the information that they are requesting. The answerer is not obliged to answer, but there is a normal Gricean expectation that the answer will provide the information requested. Courtroom questioning differs markedly, in that lawyers usually have a particular version of events in mind that they are attempting to confirm with the witness. Usually witnesses are compelled to answer, and do not have the right to ask questions. Therefore courtroom questions differ from everyday questions in both their social and their information characteristics.