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To: Poohbah
And I do properly consider the totality of the evidence. And that totality includes the integrity of the parties presenting that evidence.

You seem to be confused about the difference between totality of the evidence and the reliability of witnesses.

Just because one side puts on a witness who a juror feels is not reliable does not mean that you can throw out any old evidence that you don't wish to consider. Jurors must consider ALL of the evidence. Jurors may, however, make judgments as to the reliability of the witnesses and their testimony by considering things like bias, motivation to fabricate, prior inconsistent testimony, prior consistent testimony, and whether the witness was capable of observing the scene accurately.

83 posted on 07/22/2002 4:02:29 PM PDT by Henrietta
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To: Henrietta
You seem to be confused about the difference between totality of the evidence and the reliability of witnesses.

You seem to be extremely confused about what you think I'm confused about.

A specific witness is not the issue--but if that witness lies, that's fini for the guy's testimony, IMNHO.

This was the counsel that lied. That gives me pause to question the entire case, not just one witness.

Just because one side puts on a witness who a juror feels is not reliable does not mean that you can throw out any old evidence that you don't wish to consider.

If the evidence is being presented by someone who's been caught lying, the evidence is essentially worthless.

Jurors must consider ALL of the evidence. Jurors may, however, make judgments as to the reliability of the witnesses and their testimony by considering things like bias, motivation to fabricate, prior inconsistent testimony, prior consistent testimony, and whether the witness was capable of observing the scene accurately.

And when counsel lies, I need to consider WHY a particular witness was put on the stand--i.e., what was the counsel's bias, motivation to fabricate, et cetera.

Do you see the magnitude of difference here? When an officer of the court attempts to lie to the jury and gets caught, there's ground for questioning every single element of that side's case.

98 posted on 07/22/2002 4:10:14 PM PDT by Poohbah
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