Lassiter 07 - Flesh And Bones
“They're like that at the beginning. On edge, wanting to do their duty. As the surroundings become more familiar, as the lawyers wear out their welcome with repetitious questions and obstreperous objections, jurors kick back and daydream or doze. Sometimes I imagine them as cartoon characters, scenes of bass fishing or sexual liaisons filling little bubbles over their heads. Why not? That's what occupies my mind when Abe Socolow is strutting in front of the jury box or the judge is endlessly repeating his admonitions.
"The indictment is not evidence," Judge Stanger said, "and should not be relied on by you as evidence of guilt." He told the jurors that they were not permitted to infer guilt if the defendant didn't testify. It's a standard instruction, and many times I won't put a client on the stand, since most defendants will only muck it up. In one of my first trials as an assistant public defender, the prosecutor asked my client, "You say you're innocent, yet five people swore they ...saw you steal a watch." "So what?" my saintly client said.MoreLess
"The indictment is not evidence," Judge Stanger said, "and should not be relied on by you as evidence of guilt." He told the jurors that they were not permitted to infer guilt if the defendant didn't testify. It's a standard instruction, and many times I won't put a client on the stand, since most defendants will only muck it up. In one of my first trials as an assistant public defender, the prosecutor asked my client, "You say you're innocent, yet five people swore they ...saw you steal a watch." "So what?" my saintly client said.MoreLess
Write Review:
User Reviews: