A very confident police officer approached the witness stand today.  I studied this man as he took to the stand.  I didn’t believe him. He was guessing and speculating.  Filling in the blanks of his lack of memory with past events, habits and standard procedures.  Would the judge believe him?  After all he was a police officer.  He talked like he had no stake in the outcome.  He was the kind of witness who, if not cross examined and challenged, could pose a problem for our client’s case.

Calmly, I dealt with him…cross-examined him.  Slowly revealing his story to be just that . . . a story.  Not reliable.  Not believable.  When I was done, someone made an observation about the officer — that he needed to wash his face.  He went to the bathroom and did just that . . . “the tables had turned”.