The Witness from Hell-oh

[spindrifter]

Ken Lay is probably thinking about the next way to make brazillions of dollars. It seems that he is trying out a new technique for being a criminal defendant in trial: the take charge method of testifying. The object is to avoid answering the question by belittling the prosecutor. Undoubtedly there are seminars to be given about this new technique. Could be a win-lose proposition.

"At one point, Lay asked: "Why are you spending so much time on this issue?" indicating he doesn't fully grasp the concept of cross-examination, which in theory at least is run by the prosecutor, not the witness.

"A moment later, Lay suggested that Hueston was also inconveniencing the jurors but, to his credit, generously allowed Hueston to ask the questions he wants: "You can go where you want to, but I think this is a real waste of the jury's time.""

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/enron/

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I have to admit, the WaPo Enron blog is almost as much fun as the daily Sudoku and crossword puzzles--definitely better than comics or the food ads.

[LuckyLib]

1. I'd like to think a judge looks down over his/her glasses and

says, "Mr. Lay, the attorneys will ask the questions here." But then, maybe, I've seen too much Law and Order.

[spindrifter]

3. SL3, as they call the Enron judge,

apparently has been harsh about one thing: he doesn't like the amount of time the trial is taking. The govt. atty. should have a fit and get the judge to instruct Mr. L to answer the qs. Otherwise all of his answers are unresponsive. Of course, Lay wants exactly that. The less he actually says that responds to questions concerning the crimes he is charged with, the better, from his perspective. Even so, this is grandiosity of an unimaginable degree.

[AlCzervik]

2. what a damn fool, it's amazing he didn't get caught before.

[TomInTib]

4. The judge needs to take charge.

Witnesses should neither ask questions nor should they even mention the jury.