please post your remarks and comments about your experience with Day 2
Trial Day 2
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I would have to say that day 2 turned out to be rather interesting. I don't feel things went as smoothly as they could with the different witnesses, however. There seemed to a large amount of confusion and frustration among the attorneys. I don't believe it was fair to have a witness, unknown beforehand to the prosecution, called to the stand. From what I have seen and know about the case I also don't feel there was a justification for the idea of antisocial personality disorder being brought up. It also seemed wrong to tear down the honesty of the witnesses based on an issue brought up against just one of the witnesses. I also don't believe the expert witness should have been asked to give her opinion on things not directly related to her field of expertise. Finally, from what I heard in court today there also seemed to be holes in the defendant's testimony. While questioned by the prosecution his story changed from when he was first questioned by the defense. Now with all this said I am in no way saying the people involved did not work hard and do their best. No one in this project is an expert and if anything I am glad these things happen because it demonstrates the kinds of things that can go wrong/unfair in a real court situation. I feel everyone involved did a wonderful job today, but I honestly would have liked to see things go differently. I also rather enjoyed the attorneys' closing statements. Over the past two classes they have presented their cases well. It will definitely be interesting to see what the jurors make of it all. I am very excited to hear their verdict!
I thought day 2 was a bit more rocky than day one. I could feel that both prosecutiona and defense were geting frustrated by how their questioning was going with all parties put on the stand. There were several things that had to be revisited to day that could have been covered tuesday without having to call people back up to the stand. I thought it felt very real with how it felt like an argument between the prosecution with how the bantered back and forth with the witnesses on the stand. Although the defense is trying to make the point that the police force made many errors during the investigation i don't think that plays a role in the case. The perpetrator CONFESSED to the crime so i feel its the defenses job to try to show that he didn't have a motive and that it was selfe defense instead of trying to say that police didn't do things right. Another thing today that seemed weird to me was the expert whitness testimoney, i didn't understand why it mattered whether the defendant had a personality disorder; it didnt seem important to the case. And the expert whitness never met the victim or spoke with her family or friends so there is no way she could come up with even close to an educated guess. It will be interesting to see what the jury decides.
I thought day 2 was a bit rockier than day one. I could feel that both prosecutiona and defense were getting frustrated by how their questioning was going with all parties put on the stand. There were several things that had to be revisited to day that could have been covered tuesday without having to call people back up to the stand. I thought it felt very real with how it felt like an argument between the prosecution with how the bantered back and forth with the witnesses on the stand. Although the defense is trying to make the point that the police force made many errors during the investigation i don't think that plays a role in the case. The perpetrator CONFESSED to the crime so i feel its the defenses job to try to show that he didn't have a motive and that it was selfe defense instead of trying to say that police didn't do things right. Another thing today that seemed weird to me was the expert witness testimony, i didn't understand why it mattered whether the defendant had a personality disorder; it didnt seem important to the case. And the expert witness never met the victim or spoke with her family or friends so there is no way she could come up with even close to an educated guess. It will be interesting to see what the jury decides.
I thought today was really really interesting. It was a bit bumpy on both ends today but I feel that that was a good thing because it really shows that nothing is perfect and things can and will go wrong in the courtroom. I have 3 points of interest here. 1)I felt that the defendant's story changed from the defense's questioning to the prosecutions. There were some things that were not brought up that could have been to make things more clear and concise. 2) I could feel the tension in the room sometimes when questioning was going on. I did think that the defendant did do a pretty good job at answering the questions, I will give him that. 3) Personally, as a testifier, I really was not expecting to be questioned again today (even thought I was forewarned). I am not trying to put down the prosecution or defense by saying this but today I felt personally attacked on the stand. This was a good thing because I think I felt what a lot of people feel when they testify in court. I'm not going to say that it wasn't nerve racking to be up there because it really was. And I did not know that they were going to throw my blog posts at me ( I didn't know they could use those as evidence) but kudos to the defense for finding out that they could! There were some spots during today that I was confused and asking myself, "where is defense going with this?" Also, the expert witness testimony, I feel, should not have even happened in the first place. The fact that it was an opinionated testimony and she said that she COULD HAVE had a personality disorder, I think, just brought confusion to the whole courtroom. It just seemed that defense was trying to change story and trying to get away from the fact that the Defendant confessed to killing her.
As the prosecutor for this case, I found it very difficult to think on the fly... the defense says something and i have like 5 seconds to come up with response. Its frustrating! I was a bit annoyed with the fact that Blake's roommate came on the stand, when I knew nothing about it. I disclosed my full witness list, as well as all of my exhibits, well before trial began. When he got up there I was like... who is that? and what is he doing here? I also was unaware that blogs were fair game. Oh well. Thats Life! :) Everything happens so quickly and without warning. I was surprised when the expert witness said that Brionna had the disorder. I was not expecting that. When i was told they had an expert witness that was specializing in personality disorders I assumed, wrongly, that they were going to cast a disorder on Mr. Burns. Overall this trial was fun, frustrating, and interesting. I have a bottle of wine set aside for when this is all over. haha.
I'll second the bottle of wine! :D
I would have to agree with everyone that today was very interesting and very fun to watch. I can't beleive how quickly the prosecutor and defense attorneys think on their feet, I was very impressed! It was easy to start to feel the tension in court. But its difficult to not too! Especially being on different sides of the argument. The defendant Blake's testimony was pretty good, he did a really nice job for the most part. There were a couple of holes and things that didnt add up, like that carrying that huge knife for lunch. Thats not usual. There were times where things were rocky between the attorneys when questioning witnesses, but I liked that because it makes it seem more realistic. I too thought the testemony about the victim having a personality disorder almost irrelevant and too opinonated. But it will be interesting to see what goes on during deliberation!
Day 2 was awesome! Alyssa did impressively well considering the infectious state she was in. Beth really threw everyone for a loop with the insinuation that it was possible the victim may have had a personality disorder that could cause her to attack the defendant. This is an entirely relevant piece of the case in that it forces the jurors to ponder the thought of this being a self defense case, as it is shaping up to be. I also feel that the defendant's testimony went very well, and he responded very well and fairly clearly to the questions asked. There was really only one instance in which I felt things got a little confused in his testimony, that being the portion about the computer/hard copy nonsense. I felt the defendant had answered the questions asked and, whether intentionally or not, the prosecution did a very good job at planting the idea that the defendant's testimony may have holes, even though he never actually changed his testimony, only answered the questions he was given. I was also very impressed with the closing arguments by both sides. The prosecution did a fabulous job at putting the facts on display and the need for justice to be served. The defense, on the other hand, did a great job with working the heartstrings of the jurors, all off the top of her head, no less. All in all, great day!
P.S. That judge is quite the looker. I'm sure he could have a career as some kind of male model if the judicial path doesn't work out, which it most likely will as he seems to have the capability to excel at anything he were to ever do in his life, or if he decided that a change of scenery were necessary for his sanity. If he were single, I think I might contemplate asking him out to dinner. If only....
I appreciate your point, Judge. The whole point of my (the expert witness) testimony was to show she had risk factors for a disorder that is historically and empirically shown to have violent tendancies. Obviously I should have made that more clear. The one thing that I meant to say that I didn't was that she was seen for stress, and that level of stress would make someone who had a disorder (if they did) like antisocial much more porne to violence. Also, I had stated that I had helped several collegues with eyewitness testimony research, so I was showing that I had enough knowledge of it to give a professional opinion. That being said, it's very difficult to pretend to be an expert if you're not. I thought it showed that an expert witness would really have to know their stuff and it would be hard for someone to fake their knowledge of a subject in court. The prosecuation easily could have destroyed everything I said in court during closing statements (and I'm glad they didn't). Also, it showed that when it comes to things like disorders, sometimes it's all just guesswork. In a lot of disorders, especially since people have different degrees of disorders, it's sometimes just a guess on the part of the psychologist as to if they actually have a disorder. As psychology majors/minors, that should be an important point for us to remember.
As for the rest of it, I was very confused at times. The whole password for the computer seemed irrevelent, since on Tues both lawyers said that she stole a hard copy. Also, I think that the blogs about the missed work on the police's part was interesting. It did create reasonable doubt in my mind. Also, I did feel the tension in the room as well, though personally I was pretty comfortable on the stand. I regret that I'm married and the judge isn't single..... :)
Day 2 of the trial turned out to be alot different than day one. Things at first started off well and seemed to run semi-smoothly. The recall of some of the witnesses really helped to clarify some of the information that they provided in their testimonies. The one witness stated that she saw the victim get stabbed in the leg, and when I first heard that I found that very strange that she died from a stab wound to the leg. So when the attorneys reacalled some of the witnesses they clarified that information up for us.
That clarification also revealed that memories can be distorted and influneced by what others have said about the crime. That witness that said the victim said she was stabbed in the leg, sort of changed her testimony and now recalled her being stabbed in the stomach area. This made more sense to the reason she died than being stabbed in the leg.
I felt as is there was also alot of confusion amoung the attorneys this time around. Things didn't seem to run as smoothly as they did the first day of trial. Things were presented and people were brought in that the other attorney didn't know or hear about. The attorneys also seemed to have some difficulty with their questioning. Some of the witnesses that they questioned I believe were just not giving them the answers that they wanted and you could tell that they some of the attorneys were getting frustrated with this.
There was on part of the case yesterday that I found very confusing and that was how did the victim obtain the copy of the paper. At first the witness, Blake Barnes, had us thinking that she retrieved that paper off his computer. However later on through the questioning from the defendant attorney it was stated that the victim got a hard copy of the paper. So I was still sort of confused why, Barnes went so into detail and kept talking about how she could have gotten it off his computer if she simply just took a hard copy. I felt like the he should have said it was a hard copy from the beginning.
It will be interesting to see what the jury comes up with as a verdict for this case.
Day two was by far more exciting than day one. I will third the idea of at least a strong drink after this is over. And as to the surprise of the roommate- I aplogogize, because I realize what a surprise it was and how frustrating it was, however, I do not regret bringing him in. I hope that my point was made through my questionings. As for the closing statements. After Judge Nate said it was that time... I think I stared open mouthed for a solid minute or two. After scribbling down a few notes and making it up as I went my part in the trial was done. I can relax (to a point). I had every intention of having a very well planned closing argument. I spent 5 hours on my opening and I fully expected to be starting my closing tonight and spending all weekend. I'd been making notes on what to put in it, and a lot of the witness' I recalled and the information I asked of them was going to be wrapped up and put together in my closing. Ahh well as Alyssa said... thats life. So for now I'll be anxiously awaiting the verdict!
Day two of the trial was much more intense which was great. I thought that both lawyers did a great job questioning witnesses. When I got called to the stand I was nervous that the defense was going to ask some hard questions but it was surprisingly not too bad. I know we were crunched though so she couldn’t drag my questioning on too much. I really loved it when the defendant took the stand. It was neat to get the “background” to the murder. When Alyssa cross-examined him I almost felt bad for the guy; she asked great questions that he couldn’t give a straight answer too. So serious! At the end of the trial that day I couldn’t stop thinking about how hard a case the defense had. It would have been rather difficult to be the defense. Can’t wait to hear the verdict!
Day two was crazy all around! Frustration was definitely in the room the entire time. I thought lawyers from both sides did a good job questioning witnesses and making their closing statements (good job Beth for thinking on the fly!). I was extremely nervous that I'd have to take on more of the prosecution role if Alyssa (the prosecutor) had to leave suddenly since she wasn't feeling the best. I thought the prosecution made some good points with possible holes in the defendent's testimony and hopefully the jury understood what we were trying to point out. I was a little confused at where the prosecution was going with the personality disorder the victim might have had. I wasn't prepared for the defense bringing up a personality disorder of the victim---I thought they'd try to spin the idea on the defendent instead. Overall, I thought the day went well and I can't wait for the verdict!
Well at the end of the second day I will have to say so far this has been a pretty good trial. I'm surprised by how the defense is handling this case and will be in discussions during dilberations. Now after hearing more from both sides I have a better idea about what is going on in this trial. After the first day I really did not know where this trial was going, but after today I was able to understand that it is more of a self defense case. The defendant as testified before court that he did kill the victim. So now its up to the jury to decide if he did it because of self defense. The defendant seemed pretty cool, calm, and collected while he was being questioned and never really tripped up on his story which was impressive. The expert witness gave the opinion that the victim could have had personality disorder, but I think it would be hard to prove if the expert witness didn't actually get to know the victim and evaulate her to see if she had it. I think it could be a strategy of the defense to get the jury confused. Also I think that this trial will be emotional for a lot of people because it was on a University campus and someone elses life is now at stake. This young mans life could be ruined or this could just be a bump in the road to a life full of success. What the jury decides will greatly impact the rest of this young mans life. I think that both attorneys had good closing statements and it really left the main points of the case in the minds of the jury before we had to leave. I'm ready for the last day to see what happens to the defendant and to see what all the jurors want to bring to dilberations. I'm ready to get this trial finished to see the ending result.
Day 2 was extremely well played. I love how into character everyone is getting. I was surprised to learn the defendant would be testifying. I found myself judging him as soon as he started speaking, it's amazing how this entire mock scenario is forging real emotional responses. The expert witness for the defense, the detective and lead attorneys have really impressed me. This authenticity creates a very realistic atmosphere and it's exciting.
I think the defense in a trail always has a difficult task. The prosecution has put together a seemingly flawless case (from my perspective) yet the defense has done extraordinarily well in emphasizing the need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The jurors have a big responsibility, Im hoping they reach a decision quick!
I thought both sides did a good job. I can only imagine how much work they have put into the trial. However, there a few things that have confused me throughout the trial. First, I don't think there has been a clear understadning on what the "facts" are in the trial. That is, what are the things that both sides can agree on what occured. Do they agree that the victim stole the paper? Do they both agree the suspect killed the victim? What are the facts? Also, I think they have done a good job at using emotion to back their case, but I believe both sides need to be clearer on what their goals are. Does the prosecution want 1st degree murder? Does the defense want it to be self-defense? I don't think the words self-defense were ever used throughout the trial. I want to give credit for the awesome job both sides are doing? And I am not trying to tear you down in anyway. I just think clearing up some of the confusion would go a long way in winning this case.
I thought Day 2 was very interesting! Everything was so intense! There was a lot of tension in the room. Everyone was so in character and it was awesome. I loved when the prosecution was questioning the defendent and she kept asking questions right after the other to try to get to him. I will agree that it was a bit rocky and some parts were confusing. I think the expert witnesses testimony confused some people. I didnt think it was very relevent; i get what the defense was trying to do by using her, but I didnt think it was very relevent. I also thought the defendents case was very rehersed and there were some holes in his story. When he was being questioned by the prosecution, it seemed to me like he was a lot more nervous, he stuttered quite a bit. I was also very surprised when the roommate showed up to be questioned. I wasnt expecting that at all. I did feel that officer collin got attacked on the stand by the defense, which I didnt feel was right, because it really wasnt relevent to the case. But overall, I am very impressed by both the prosecution and defense. Both have done a tremendous job in presenting there case. I cant imagine how much time they've put into it. I feel like this experience has been very real; it definitely feels like a real case. I am very excited to hear the verdict!
Like just about everybody else, I felt that Day 2 didn't go as smoothly as planned. There was a lot of frustration and confusion among just about everyone involved. I'm sure the jury is going to have a difficult time deciding what to do. There were a lot of things that happened that I feel were underhanded or wrong and a lot of things that seemed to be fabrications. The expert witness was odd, she was supposed to be an expert in personality disorders but for the first little bit, the defense had her talking about memory and witness memory, which she didn't have credibility in discussing. The defense seemed to be grabbing for straws and the prosecution was well put together but fumbled when they defense surprised them. Closing statements were fairly well done. I'm really excited to see what the verdict is! It was a very close trial on Day 2 and I think it's a toss up on which side will get their way.
So I found the defense's case to be kinda week. It's hard to paint a victim as somebody to be feared. In addition to that they couldn't disprove that he killed her so that also counts against the defendant. In the end it comes down to the defense hoping that the prosecution doesn't completely nail Burns to the wall which I believe they have. I honestly have very little doubt that the jury will not convict the defendant. I did find it interesting that the attorneys did not push the witnesses very hard on their testimony save for a few small instances. I don't know how this will affect the jury but it is an interesting aspect of the trial. Now all we have to do is wait for the jury to deliberate and come back with a verdict.
The second day of trial was more interesting than the first. I went into this day fairly certain that Blake Burns was guilty. However, the defense did a very good job of sharing their side of the story with all the witnesses that were called to the stand. The prosecutors also did a good job of questioning the witness. There was some confusion on how the paper got into the possession of Breanna, which may end up playing a role in the jury's decision. There was also a lot of tension felt in the courtroom. It was clear that the attorneys were getting frustrated with each other as they most likely would in real life. There was some confusion on certain issues, but I thought they were handled well.
The second day of the trial was definitely more interesting. It was great to finally be able to hear from the perpetrator, although he seemed really nervous. A lot of stuff doesn't seem to quite add up though. There was a lot of confusion about how breanna got the papers, because at first it sounded like she had to have broken into his computer and then it ended up sounding like she just picked up a hard copy off of the desk. All in all, even with how good of agruments the defense has been giving, I don't think an excuse like "I killed her because i felt threatened about the paper and that i would get a bad grade" and whatnot is going to hold up as any sort of actual mitigating circumstance in court. Also, very impressed with the defense's closing arguments as I heard she hadn't prepared any!
I really enjoyed the second day of trial. I thought that both sides made valid closing arguements and both sides provided testimony in ways that I, as a juror, could understand. I enjoyed the expert witness testimony. I enjoyed that she stood her ground and she really sounded like she knew what she was talking about!! I did not see the defense strategy of the personality disorder coming!! However it does explain the behavior that they claim the victim was emitting. The attornies did a good job of objecting in the right places and the judge kept the court room in good order.
I really enjoyed the second day of trial. I thought that both sides made valid closing arguements and both sides provided testimony in ways that I, as a juror, could understand. I enjoyed the expert witness testimony. I enjoyed that she stood her ground and she really sounded like she knew what she was talking about!! I did not see the defense strategy of the personality disorder coming!! However it does explain the behavior that they claim the victim was emitting. The attornies did a good job of objecting in the right places and the judge kept the court room in good order.
I thought day two was much more intense than day one. As many others have stated, the attorneys were getting very frustrated with some things that were not previously cleared. Anyway, despite the misunderstandings, it went alright. After Blake Burns was questioned, I think everyone in the court room walked away with new information floating in their heads. Many of us walked into this trial with a specific mindset, but I think after day two, we might be questioning out previous thoughts. Hearing Burns's testimony got everyone thinking about just what really happened. Is Brionna a psycho? I know that I was definitely questioning that. Especially when the expert witness testified. She stated some pretty hard facts that could lead toward a personality disorder. And, what was really awesome was when the prosecution cut her off, and then she snapped right back, "I wasn't finished." Loved it! You go girl. Anyway, I will be anxiously awaiting the verdict from the jury today. Considering the many thoughts that were racing through my head after day two, I'm sure this will be a tough decision for all jury members. Good luck everyone!
The second day of trial started off really great. Some people were recalled back to be questioned again others were not. The client actually came to court this time. He was actually a good sport. Towards the end it was funny because we had no closing argument, so I quickly wrote down on a piece of paper to restate the opening statement, but not all of it then resay about what the second trial was about and emphasis on Bri's personality, then everything came together.
The second day started off pretty good. We got it cleared up whether he was stabbed in the leg or the gut. I can see where it would be confusing seeing as it wasnt a real stabbing and all, and where the blood was. But the blood was coming from the abdomen, according to all reports. And the funny part was he had no alibi as to where he was, or why he stabbed the victim.
The second day of the trial kind of confused me. There were accusations of if the victim was stabbed in the leg or in the abdomen. But, that was cleared up fast. It was resolved if there were personal issues involved or if the suspect had a motive in the case.
I thought the second day of the trial was much more intense than the first day. Everyone took their roles very seriously and stayed in character the whole time. I really liked that the defendant testified, because the court was able to get his perspective and reasoning as to how and why the crime happened. Both attornies seemed to be frusturated at multiple points throughout the questioning because of confusion and mixed up statements from those being questioned. It didn't seem to me that the defendant's statements really matched up to his roommates - there were some things said by both that made me question whether they were being truthful.Overall I thought everyone did an excellent job on day 2.
The second day was more interesting to me. I liked hearing what Blake said and his roommate although I really felt like their story kept changing like with the copy being from the computer or a hard copy. It sorta seemed like both sides were having troubles asking questions and that they weren't getting what they wanted. I didn't feel like the roommate helped the defenses case much because he couldn't clearly say what had happened. Also the defense tried to discredit the witnesses (which made me feel a little better I didn't get to testify) which I don't think she did that great of job or that it was necessary because all they had said was that it was him who stabbed her and that wasn't what was being questioned, it was obvious that he was the one who had stabbed her. Overall though I still think the defense did a decent job because there was so much evidence that she had to have an answer for
I thought day two was really exciting! As a detective I wanted the prosecution to win the case, because I really believed the suspect was guilty. However, I also thought the defense team had an incredibly difficult job. I think they did a good job calling in a witness no one knew about to try and show that the defendant felt his life was in danger.
I also thought both lawyers did a great job with their closing arguments. The prosecution was very to the point, leaving little doubt for the few minutes she talked that the defendant was guilty of first degree murder. However, I think the defense attorney did a great job making her closing really personal. Her statement that the jury had a life in their hands I thought was pretty great. It really had nothing to do with her client's innocence, but it did plant this seed in the jury's heads that they better be really sure about their decision before they announce their verdict.
Overall, I think the lawyers and their witnesses deserve a huge round of applause. Blake did a great job on the stand, and the expert witness for the defense did an excellent job as well. Being a lawyer would have been too much for me to handle, but I think the girls that chose the role all did a wonderful job.