Some people suck more than others

[Twitches]

Originally Posted by Browncoat

Maybe he's garnering on jury sympathy since he drove her to the hospital after allegedly stabbing her 13 times.

Oh, well in that case, it's all good. Sad, I hope things work out for "Vicky" and especially for her kids.

[Another Reason to Smoke]

Hm. I was bitching about my whole domestic situation in the reef. This thread reminds me that I have no business complaining about anything, ever.

[Browncoat]

The trial has been postponed twice already this year. It was supposed to be in January, but we didn't really think it would happen. The DA's office has a lady that works as sort of a liason to the victims in situations like this, a social worker type. She's been kind enough to keep us in the loop, and told us it had been scheduled for January, but, knowing the defense attorney like she does, she expected him to pull some crap at the last minute to get a delay. So, we weren't surprised at all when we got the call that it had been postponed. What did surprise us was that it was because the DA had a death in the family. Rescheduled for March.

Delayed again, I forget why. Currently scheduled for May.

[Lois Lane]

i'm glad you are there for this woman. i hope for her and her kids' sake, this is over sooner rather than later.

[Browncoat]

Well, it seems like it's happening. Monday and Tuesday.

[The Drunken Actuary]

Originally Posted by Browncoat

Well, it seems like it's happening. Monday and Tuesday.

So...today?

[Browncoat]

Yep. First day was today. We intended to be there at the start, but I ended up taking our 3yo to the doctor's first thing, and got to the trial late. Apparently, in the opening statements, his lawyer said that he'd been to the house many times while the PFA was in effect. I don't know why he thinks that's a good thing to say, but Mrs Browncoat offered to the DA to testify that she'd never seen him there. I don't know why that would be particularly helpful, since her not seeing him <> him never being there. What it did mean, though, is that she needed to be sequestered, so she couldn't sit and watch the trial and offer moral support.

So, today: opening statements (which I missed) followed by Vicki's testimony, which took most of the day (she did well), followed by the doctor that fixed her collapsed lung that night, two nurses that were on duty that night, and the HOA Community Manager where we live.

Defense seems to be asking irrelevant questions and insinuating that his client only looks guilty because the state police didn't investigate anyone else, so shame on them. There were a few other things I thought at the time that I'd have to remember to post now, but I forget what. Maybe I'll remember later.

[Browncoat]

Interesting thing about a collapsed lung. What happens is, when your lung gets punctured, then, with every breath you take, your lung starts to expand, and a little air leaks out into your chest cavity, where it has no where else to go. As that pressure builds up, it prevents your lung from expanding, and starts to push your heart and the things connected to it to the other side of your chest. If left untreated, it could be fatal.

This was one of the points the DA made sure to ask the doctor about. In his cross, the defense dude made sure to ask, "Is it possible that, left untreated, it could fix itself?" The doctor admitted it is possible. Then the DA redirected, and asked his question again: "If untreated, could it be fatal?" "Yes." Then the Defense Attorney got to ask his question again.

Then they stopped, I guess because they both figured they had made their respective points.

[The Drunken Actuary]

Originally Posted by Browncoat

Interesting thing about a collapsed lung. What happens is, when your lung gets punctured, then, with every breath you take, your lung starts to expand, and a little air leaks out into your chest cavity, where it has no where else to go. As that pressure builds up, it prevents your lung from expanding, and starts to push your heart and the things connected to it to the other side of your chest. If left untreated, it could be fatal.

This was one of the points the DA made sure to ask the doctor about. In his cross, the defense dude made sure to ask, "Is it possible that, left untreated, it could fix itself?" The doctor admitted it is possible. Then the DA redirected, and asked his question again: "If untreated, could it be fatal?" "Yes." Then the Defense Attorney got to ask his question again.

Then they stopped, I guess because they both figured they had made their respective points.

sounds like they do on tv. I thought that was always a little overly dramatic. Guess not.

[Gentle Giant]

Originally Posted by The Drunken Actuary

sounds like they do on tv. I thought that was always a little overly dramatic. Guess not.

Except that in real life, the attorneys are rarely allowed to stand up during the questioning (i.e., only for things such as demonstrating the way an assault occurred for the benefit of the jury.)

And there is very rarely any raising of voices on the part of the attorneys OR the witnesses (as I was told). There's probably been a bit more lately on the part of the witnesses due to what they think actually happens because they see it on TV, but usually the judge makes a point of trying to keep everybody calm (like they do on TV, but more successfully).