The New York Supreme Court’s Commercial Division Advisory Council has recommended a rule that it believes would substantially expedite non-jury trials and facilitate cross examination with no adverse effects. According to the Council “such a rule would highlight the availability of a practice … that has been found by some judges and attorneys to streamline trials and facilitate crisper cross-examination of witnesses.” The proposed rule would allow courts to require direct testimony in affidavit form of a party’s own witness in a non-jury trial or evidentiary hearing. The proposed rule reads as follows: