These
are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people
actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court
reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were
actually taking place. ATTORNEY:
Are you sexually active? WITNESS: No, I just lie
there. ______________________________
ATTORNEY: What is your date
of birth? WITNESS: July 18th. ATTORNEY: What year? WITNESS: Every
year.____________________________________
ATTORNEY: What
gear were you in at the moment of the impact? WITNESS: Gucci sweats and
Reeboks. ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: This
myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? WITNESS:
Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory? WITNESS: I
forget. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you
forgot? _____________________________________
ATTORNEY: How old is
your son, the one living with you? WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I
can't remember which. ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you? WITNESS:
Forty-five years. _____________________________________
ATTORNEY: What
was the first thing your husband said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said,
"Where am I, Cathy?" ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My
name is Susan. ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you
know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo? WITNESS: We both
do. ATTORNEY: Voodoo? WITNESS: We do. ATTORNEY: You do? WITNESS:
Yes, voodoo. ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now
doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know
about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar
exam? ___________________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest
son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he? WITNESS: Uh, he's
twenty-one.. _______________________________________
ATTORNEY:
Were you present when your picture was taken? WITNESS: Would you repeat the
question? ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the
date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY:
And what were you doing at that time? WITNESS:
Uh.... ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had
three children, right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were
boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any
girls? ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was
your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death. ATTORNEY: And by whose
death was it
terminated? ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can
you describe the individual? WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a
beard. ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a
female? ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your
appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to
your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to
work. ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how
many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people? WITNESS: All my
autopsies are performed on dead
people. ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your
responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to? WITNESS:
Oral. ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you
recall the time that you examined the body? WITNESS: The autopsy started
around 8:30 p.m.ATTORNEY: And Mr.
Denton was dead at the time? WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table
wondering why I was doing an autopsy on
him! ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you
qualified to give a urine sample? WITNESS:
Huh? ______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor,
before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? WITNESS:
No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY
Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: So, then it is
possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS:
No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain
was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still
been alive, nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have
been alive and practicing law
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