COURTROOM QUESTION

These are from a book called Disorder in the Court by A. LedereA. They are things people actually said in the court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters - who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges actually taking place.)

  1. Doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know it until next morning?
  2. Did he kill you?
  3. You were there until the time you left, is that true?
  4. How far apart were the vehicles at the exact time of the collision?
"Too bad that charming little woman didn't retain me to defend her. What a pleasure it would have been denouncing her husband!..."
Honoré Daumier : Men of justice 1846
  5. Were you present when your picture was taken?
  6. How many times have you committed suicide?
  7. Q. So the date of conception (of your baby) was August 8th?
  A. Yes.
  Q. And what were you doing at that exact time?

  8. The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?

  9. Q. You say the stairs went down on the basement?
  A. Yes.
  Q. And these stairs, did they go up also?

10. Q Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?
  A. We both do.
  Q. Voodoo?
  A. We do.
  Q. You do?
  A. Yes, voodoo.

11. Q Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?
  A. I went to Europe, sir.
  Q. And you took your new wife?

12. Q. How was your first marriage terminated?
  A. By death.
  Q. And by whose death was it terminated?

13. Q Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
  A. All my autopsie are performed on dead people.

14. Q. All your responses must be oral OK?
  Q. What school did you go to?
  A. Oral.

15. Q Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
  A. :The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
  Q. And the victim was dead at that time?
  A. No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

16. Q. Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
  A. No.
  Q. Did you check for blood pressure?
  A. No.
  Q. Did you check for breathing?
  A. No.
  Q. So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
  A. No.
  Q. How can you be sure, Doctor?
  A. Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
  Q. But could the patient have still been alive , never the less?
  A. Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practising law somewhere.

17. Q. What is your date of birth?
  A. July fifteenth.
  Q. What year?
  A. Every year.

18. Q. This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
  A. Yes.
  Q. And in what ways does it affect your memory?
  A. I forget.
  Q. You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

19. Q. How old is your son, the one living with you?
  A. Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
  Q. How long has he lived with you?
  A. Forty-five years.

20. Q. She had three children, right?
  A. Yes.
  Q. How many were boys?
  A. None.
  Q. Where there any girls?

21. Q. And where was the location of the accident?
  A. Approximately 14 Shamai street.
  Q. And where is 14 Shamai street?
  A.

Probably between Shamai street 12 and 16.

22. Q. Did you ever stay all night with this man in New York?
  A. I refuse to answer that question.
  Q. Did you ever stay all night with this man in Chicago?
  A. I refuse to answer that question.
  Q. Did you ever stay all night with this man in Miami?
  A. No.

23. Q. Mrs Smith, do you believe that you are emotionally unstable?
  A. I should be.
  Q. How many times have you committed suicide?
  A. Four times.

24. Q. What happened then?
  A. He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify me".
  Q. Did he kill you?
  A. No.
25. Q. What is your relationship with the plaintiff?
  A. She is my daughter.
  Q. Was she your daughter on February 13, 1979?

26. Q. ...and what did he do then?
  A. He came home, and next morning he was dead.
  Q. : So when he woke up the next morning he was dead?

27. Q. Could you see him from where you were standing?
  A. I could see his head.
  Q. And where was he dead?
  A. : Just above his shoulders.
28. The Court to the Jury: Now, as we begin, I must ask you to banish all present information from your minds, if you have any.