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The ME seems to have selective amnesia regarding the autopsy -- no memory of it at all.

sjfcontrol wrote:The ME seems to have selective amnesia regarding the autopsy -- no memory of it at all.

He is irritating me.

The ME has his own notes, since he can't remember ANYTHING about the autopsy. The court has taken the notes, and the lawyers are now reviewing them. The ME didn't want to give them up. So now the lawyers know what he thought might be important. He stated he made the notes as answers to questions the defense might ask.

Now break for lunch to allow both sides to review ME's notes. This would seem to be quite strange. The ME didn't want them to make copies. (Or to have them at all, for that matter.)

sjfcontrol wrote:The ME has his own notes, since he can't remember ANYTHING about the autopsy. The court has taken the notes, and the lawyers are now reviewing them. The ME didn't want to give them up. So now the lawyers know what he thought might be important. He stated he made the notes as answers to questions the defense might ask.

I felt a little bad for him. . . I don't think he's being misleading or coy. . . he seems to feel a huge weight or responsibility to be accurate and has significant anxiety over public speaking, so he spent over 100 hours reviewing his reports in preparation for the testimony. Nobody told him they have a right to see any written notes. Forgive me for brushing with broad strokes, but there's probably a reason he chose to spend his days in a quiet lab with deceased people instead of, say, in outside sales or as the next Dr. Oz.

I have a close friend from Japan who has the same nervous mannerisms and penchant for dogged preparation.

Regardless, that was a pretty captivating moment.

With respect and deference to fickman's post, and empathy for the ME in this situation, I have to believe his testimony as a whole is "reasonable doubt" in and of itself.

Reading some of the tweets this morning regarding Bao's testimony. One that struck me...

(from http://legalinsurrection.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Diana Tennis @TennisLaw
My phone is blowing up with texts from lawyers, this is, pardon the legal jargon, Super Whacked.

A-R wrote:With respect and deference to fickman's post, and empathy for the ME in this situation, I have to believe his testimony as a whole is "reasonable doubt" in and of itself.

I think the same can be said for (almost?) EVERY prosecution witness in this case.

Oh, his testimony is a train wreck. He's talking over the defense, answering closed-ended questions with open-ended answers, and talking outside of his field, and the judge has been allowing it - making West look like the bad guy for interrupting.

When pressed about not remembering, he started down a tangent of how nobody can accurately remember two years ago and started reciting his research about "false memory" and something else before he was stopped.

Seeing the look of horror in his face when the attorney was allowed to read his notes was compelling. The defense team pointed to something and perked up, and one live blog reportedly quoted the ME as saying, "Is there something funny on there?"

He tried to anticipate their questions and wrote out elaborated answers. He's given them a roadmap and possibly led them to ask questions they hadn't intended to ask. They also now know how to get him off the paper and into something he's not prepared for.

Poor guy. He braided the very whip they're about to use on him.

fickman wrote:Oh, his testimony is a train wreck. He's talking over the defense, answering closed-ended questions with open-ended answers, and talking outside of his field, and the judge has been allowing it - making West look like the bad guy for interrupting.

When pressed about not remembering, he started down a tangent of how nobody can accurately remember two years ago and started reciting his research about "false memory" and something else before he was stopped.

Seeing the look of horror in his face when the attorney was allowed to read his notes was compelling. The defense team pointed to something and perked up, and one live blog reportedly quoted the ME as saying, "Is there something funny on there?"

He tried to anticipate their questions and wrote out elaborated answers. He's given them a roadmap and possibly led them to ask questions they hadn't intended to ask. They also now know how to get him off the paper and into something he's not prepared for.

Poor guy. He braided the very whip they're about to use on him.

It is a gold mine for the defense.

I believe they said the autopsy took place at 10:30 PM. When he started to claim that he had NO memory of the autopsy, it made me wonder what his alcohol consumption habits are. Perhaps it was a blackout.

While West and O'mara were reviewing the ME's notes, West pointed at something on the paper and they both kinda smiled. Apparently someone there overheard (and subsequently tweeted) that the ME then said, "There's something funny in there?"

The ME may be a stand up guy but he has no credibility with me based on his testimony so far.

The ME made a huge mistake with his notes and attitude. I cant wait to hear more. Lets get it going.

texanjoker wrote:The ME made a huge mistake with his notes and attitude. I cant wait to hear more. Lets get it going.

LONG discussions at the judge's bench -- Now swearing in the prosecution lawyer at the bench!!

sjfcontrol wrote:
It is a gold mine for the defense.

I believe they said the autopsy took place at 10:30 PM. When he started to claim that he had NO memory of the autopsy, it made me wonder what his alcohol consumption habits are. Perhaps it was a blackout.

The guy said he does 300 to 700 autopsies a year. I wouldn't expect him to remember every one. I'd bet a not insignificant number of them are young black males (as they would be for every large city ME In the country), so it could easily have been one that didn't make any special impressions on him.