Is content analysis a qualitative research method?

Content analysis can use either a quantitative or qualitative approach - it can depend both on what you're looking at, and on how you're analysing it. So if you're looking at leading questions in court transcripts it sounds like you're drawing on qualitative data (text) and you'll be using some sort of thematic categorisation (qualitative) in doing your content analysis. If you're looking at frequencies of leading questions (according to one or more definitions of "leading question") that would be a more quantitative approach with qualitative data. There are many debates about the boundaries of qualitative and quantitative approaches as paradigms....