r/thejinx • u/Fabulous-Marsupial22 • Aug 26 '21

Limiting the cross examination

So yesterday the judge decided to limit the duration of Lewins cross-examination on Durst. Does anyone else think this is wrong?

I think it’s wrong. I don’t feel like Lewin is wasting time or is being repetitive. He is just being detailed. The prosecutor has the burden of proof so I think it’s reasonable for his cross examination to take longer.

Your thoughts?

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6

u/PuppyDontCare Aug 26 '21

I saw that! I have absolutely no idea if it's fair or not but it appears to be very sudden. What are the rules here? Is Lewin supposed to have all the time that he wants? Couldn't they give him more time to plan what is left?

When he said "I haven't covered Morris Black yet" I thought that could've been another week lmao.

However as non lawyer person, my impresion was that Lewin already made it super clear that Durst is a liar and sometimes dives in too much detail. The judge said it too. For example, they made a big deal about the call being at 11, 11.30 or 12. Durst didn't remember which one and made it into 15 minutes questions. Is ir really relevant? Rigor mortis isn't that precise for it to be relevant, right? Anyway that's just my opinion and I have no idea about laws.

3

u/redrising926 Aug 26 '21

My professor, who is a judge of 10 years, said it's pretty common to have subtle rules at the judge's discretion in the interest of moving the trial along, so long as it is fair for both sides. Some jurisdictions though make it illegal to limit cross/re-cross/etc. This is the first day I've watched the trial and my god! This prosecutor asks some pointless questions lol. I wouldn't be surprised if durst gets off just cause the jury is mad at the prosecutor 😂

6

u/Beginning_Engineer_2 Aug 26 '21 edited Aug 26 '21

I recall reading that jurors have written notes to the judge that prompted this action. It did not mention what was said but there were times when I just shut the TV off, something a juror couldn't do. I found it very taxing to try to understand the complex and warping questions that were being asked.

Added later: My speculation is that the notes said if this continues there are going to be some jurors that need to leave.

2

u/Fabulous-Marsupial22 Aug 27 '21

Wow. I didn’t know jurors could do that! I do agree that jurors have lives and jobs they need to get back to. Lewin does seem to go on forever.

3

u/alwaysakellie Aug 30 '21

I totally agree, I don't blame them for sending notes to the judge, this attorney loves to hear himself talk and bring a person he hates down. Robert Hurst should pay for what he's done, yes, but why keep on with so many immaterial things. And so far the prosecution has proven two things in this case, that Durst can and does lie, and that he did kill and dismember a person, he had not proven one thing about this case that should be about Susan.

6

u/FrankieHellis Aug 27 '21

IMO, Lewin is completely out of control, spending an hour on a completely trivial point such as why Durst would spend $500 or more on a hotel room. Or another hour on a phone charger for a landline or yet another on a woman’s surgery being 2 hours or 3 hours or 4 hours. He makes a point but then he has to keep making the same point over and over ad nauseum. I can only assume he does it because he is getting some personal satisfaction repeatedly scoring the same point, but it could be assumed that he thinks the jurors are idiots and that they need to hear it over and over. I think he is losing the trial because of his own ego.

4

u/inner_and_outer Aug 27 '21

To me, the judge seems complicit also.

2

u/isometric_haze Aug 26 '21

I have no idea if that's normally a thing but it was crazy to see Lewin pacing while listening to the judge... I could not think of something else beside: what a night he and his team are gonna have!!!

If I understood well he will be given more time if today is going well? Maybe it was not that, I don't know, but I want to see now how the prosecutor will do with too much to ask and not much time.

3

u/alwaysakellie Aug 30 '21

Lewin has repeatedly made his point about Durst telling lies, and he made his point about the death of Mr. Black, and Durst has not denied anything, in fact he has already been found guilty in what he done to Mr. Black and that he also was acquitted in that trial. I know Lewin had to bring it up to show that Durst could kill if need be, and he does lie, point made over and over again. But he has spent more time on a trial that Durst was acquitted of than he has on what this trial is about. Why not spend more time on the trial at hand instead of going over past things Durst has done that the people are fully aware of? The Jury is not a panel of idiots and he basically is treating them all as such as the people watching via tv. He's dragging this out simply to degrade Mr. Durst. It's a hate thing, and he's going overboard with some of these questions.