Killer Cross Examination

I've pulled off some amazing results in court - most are attributable to my cross examinations.  While Killer Cross Examination is the name of our podcast, it is also the style of cross examination that I practice.  People want to know what makes my style of and my approach to cross examination different.  When I stand up, I consider every encounter with a witness a battle - a battle that I intend to win.  I set out to "kill" the witness's credibility.  This episode of the podcast helps you understand what makes this style of cross examination different.

As a child, I was labeled a “bad kid.” I had ADHD before anyone had really considered it an ailment. But people want to know more about how I got here … to this point and a part of that story is how I came to relate and empathize with the little guy, the outcast and you can’t understand that part of me without knowing about my youth.

I’ve said that defending the little guy is in my genes, my blood and in my DNA. People have asked how did I get here? How did I become an advocate for the accused, disregarded and ostracized? To those who want to know and those interested in how someone like me ends up being constructed — how I get here and what makes me tick — this episode is for you.

In this episode, I share some painful stories about my youth. My unpopularity, my feelings of being an outsider and my diagnosis of ADHD in the 70’s! To those parents whose children suffer from ADHD or ADD, I’ve offered an opportunity to reach out to me. To those kids, suffering from it, I make the same offer. Reach out … you can overcome and even in some ways, harness the condition and achieve.

Dr. Fagenbaum (the doctor that diagnosed me), Mrs. Snow (my first grade teacher at Pasteur Elementary in Detroit), Mrs. Carlton (a teacher of mine at Pasteur Elementary in Detroit), my mother, who dutifully packed my Ritalin pill every day for me to take a lunch, this episode is for you, and all the parents of kids who are on the fringe, this one is for you.

We’ve all heard the stories about the tough judges, the judges who view themselves as hard-asses. Lawyers traveling to other towns always ask, “tell me about the judge” because we want to know if the judge is tough or has developed a reputation for being a “hanging judge”. They have no place in today’s legal system but they exist and because of their impact in the lives of the accused before them, I take them on during this episode. We subject this style of judge to killer cross examination.

The first to state his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.

They biblical phrase describes trials, direct examination and cross examination in some ways better than any book or pamphlet.  Witnesses take the stand and on direct examination and “seem right”. They seem right, believable and convincing.  Then the challenge to their story comes in … we challenge their story.  We provide the counterweight.  When done, the witness no longer seems right.

I take you through a recent case, a probation violation hearing, where Proverbs 18:17 came to life.  I walk you through how the prosecution witness gave damning testimony against our client and it seemed “right” until cross examined.   This is a valuable lesson in not jumping to conclusions and allowing cross examination to tell the story.

Robinhood. Vlad.  Citadel.  Steve Cohen. David Portnoy.  Game Stop.  Nokia.  AMC Theaters Holdings.  Dogecoin.  Bitcoin.  Shorts.  Options.  Wall Street bets.  Reddit.  We’ve seen a convergence of these names, financial terms, stocks, companies and entities over last few weeks as old school Wall Street butted heads with the public and WSB Reddit.  But when traders needed a platform to trade, Robin Hood and other similar trading companies banned trades, halted trading, changed the rules.  Wall Street benefitted.  The individual investor did not.  Yet, not one of the leaders, power brokers or those involved were subjected to real cross examination - real powerful, probing questioning.  I saw the interviews on television.  Softball questions.  Time limits.  What we needed is/was killer cross examination of Vlad and others.  In fact, I offered to do it.

This is where Killer Cross Examination meets Robin Hood.

I get asked a lot of questions about criminal defense. I think all criminal lawyers do. The questions, you can guess them:

Here my take on why these questions miss the mark on what I/we do.

As a child, I watched the Wide World of Sports on ABC.  Like others, I loved the introduction - “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”  Who can forget the iconic ski jumper falling sideways off the ski jump, crashing and tumbling.  Pain. Hurt.  Disappointment.   In the criminal justice system, prosecutors can appeal rulings that they don’t like - when evidence is suppressed, police are adjudged to have broken the law or when a charge/case is dismissed.  I’ve watched client’s jump for joy, elation and relief when the charges are dismissed or evidence suppressed. I’ve watched as client’s have the proverbial rug pulled out from under them when the prosecutor appeals and tries to reverse the ruling.  It is cruel.

In this episode, I explore and discuss this phenomenon.  As I said, when prosecutor’s appeal, it is not appealing.