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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. |
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01 |
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there. |
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02 |
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ATTORNEY: When is your birthday?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year. |
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03 |
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. |
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04 |
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes. |
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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? |
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05 |
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. |
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06 |
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. |
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07 |
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. |
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08 |
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? |
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09 |
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-one year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one. |
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10 |
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question? |
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11 |
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.... |
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12 |
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? |
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13 |
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? |
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14 |
ATTORNEY: Can you describe
the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female? |
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15 |
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. |
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16 |
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on
dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. |
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17 |
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you
go to?
WITNESS: Oral. |
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18 |
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the
time t hat you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM.
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! |
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19 |
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh? |
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20 |
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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