Recently reported in the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal,
the following are 22 questions actually asked of witnesses by attorneys
during trials and, in certain cases, the response given by insightful
witnesses:
1."Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in
his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
2. " the youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?"
3.Were you present when your picture was taken?"
4. "Were you alone or by yourself?"
5."Was it you or your brother who was killed in the war?"
6."Did he kill you?"
7."How for apart were the vehicles at the time of the
collision?"
8. "You were there until until the time you left, is that correct?"
9. "How many times have you committed suicide?"
10. Q: "So the date of the conception (of the baby) was
August 8th?"
A: "Yes"
Q: "And what were
you doing that time?"
11. Q: "She had three children, right?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "How many were
boys?"
A: "none."
Q: "Were there any
girls?"
12. Q:You say the stairs went down to the basement?"
A:"Yes"
Q:" And these stairs,
did they go up also?"
13. 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?"
14.Q:"How was your first marriage terminated?"
A:"By death."
Q:"And by whose
death was it terminated?”
15.Q:"Can you describe the individual?"
A:"He
was about medium height and had a beard."
Q:"Was
this a male, or a female?"
16.Q:"Is your appearance here this morning
pursuant to a deposition notice which I
sent to your attorney?"
A:"No, this
is how I dress when I go to work."
17.Q:"Doctor, how many autopsies have you
performed on dead people?"
A:"All my autopsies
are performed on dead people."
18.Q:"All your responses must be oral, OK?
What school did you go to?"
A:"Oral."
19.Q:"Do you recall the time that you examined the
body?"
A:"The autopsy
started around 8:30p.m."
Q:"And Mr. Dennington
was dead at the time?"
A:"No, he was
sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy."
20.Q:"You were not shot in the fracas?"
A:"No, I was
shot midway between the fracas and the navel."
21.Q:"Are you qualified to give a urine
sample?"
A:" I have been
since early childhood."
22.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 it was
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 nevertheless?"
A:"It is possible
that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."
More courtroom stuff
Subject: Courtroom Humor or things you will never see on
Perry Mason from a little book called "Disorder in the Court".
They're
things people actually said in court, word for word.
Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July fifteenth.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.
Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
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?
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.
Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when
he woke
that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.
Q: And where was the location of the accident?
A: Approximately milepost 499.
Q: And where is milepost 499?
A: Probably between milepost 498 and 500.
Q: Sir, what is your IQ?
A: Well, I can see pretty well, I think.
Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?
A: After the accident?
Q: Before the accident.
A: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school
for it.
Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved
in the
voodoo or occult?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.
Q: Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red
and
blue lights flashing?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her
car?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What did she say?
A: What disco am I at?
Q: Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in
the war?
Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?
Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?
Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?