I should note beforehand that much of my legal "knowledge" is based off of TV shows and movies so some of my assumptions might be off.
When you take the stand at a trial, you promise to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." But it seems like most witnesses do not tell the whole truth, at least right away.
For example, lawyers often give certain lines of questioning to develop an argument. From what I understand, witnesses are encouraged to simply answer the questions asked and not say much more.
But often there is a lot more nuance and a lot more additional evidence that could paint the story in a different light. If you are simply responding to a lawyer's line of questioning, and the lawyer's line of questioning is not complete, then your responses are not telling the whole truth. And because lawyers are usually representing one side or the other, they rarely give a complete line of questioning and only ask the questions that support their side of the case.
Does this mean that most witnesses are not telling the whole truth?
