The truth is always the best evidence. Sitting in the back of the court today and I was reminded of one of my first cases and the lesson is as timely as ever. All those years ago I was instructing a barrister (who is now a Federal Circuit Court judge) and our witness was on the stand.  The witness was asked a seemingly innocuous question – ‘how tall was he?’ The witness replied, “five foot eight and three quarters”. I was just a junior solicitor, but I knew in that instant that we were stuffed.  Well, if not that exact instant, certainly in the one where the witness was asked if she stood by that statement and she confirmed that she was indeed certain that the man was, ‘definitely five foot eight and three quarters’. The witness had no way of knowing the exact height of the person in question ...