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.
____________________________________
>>>ATTORNEY: Are you
sexually active?
>>>WITNESS: No, I just
lie there.
_______________________________________
>>>ATTORNEY:
When is your birthday?
>>>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-one 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 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!
>>>______________________________________
>>>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.
