Legal Definitions - assertive question

An assertive question is a type of question asked in a criminal trial that seeks inadmissible evidence to provide the jury with details about another crime. This type of question is different from an interrogative question, which is a question that seeks information about the crime being tried.

Example 1: During a trial for robbery, the prosecutor asks the witness, "Isn't it true that the defendant was also involved in a burglary last year?" This is an assertive question because it seeks information about another crime that is not relevant to the current trial.

Example 2: In a trial for assault, the defense attorney asks the witness, "Did you see the defendant hit the victim?" This is an interrogative question because it seeks information about the crime being tried.

The examples illustrate the difference between an assertive question and an interrogative question. An assertive question seeks information about another crime, while an interrogative question seeks information about the crime being tried.