Trial Run, Yet Again



This morning i had to conduct the direct examination of a security officer in a department store who apprehended a shoplifter. The women he arrested claims she brought the perfume bottle with her into the store to compare it with what she wanted to buy, even though the sample bottle of perfume identical to the one in her purse is now missing from the cosmetics counter.



I was all ready to go at it from several different angles, but unfortunately, the guy playing the officer hadn't read the deposition and was either reading it as he went or ad libbing facts that weren't in it. It threw my timing off, but I think I recovered. It's frustrating that not everyone takes this stuff seriously. In a short time, preparations for these trials will cost clients money, time, prestige, and maybe even their lives if one is doing criminal work. Isn't it worthwhile to put some effort into trials now rather say, "Oh, I'll snap into shape when it really matters?"