Episode Details

Yesterday was the ninth day of testimony in the murder trial of Curtis Reeves, the retired Tampa SWAT Captain who shot and killed Chad Oulson in a local movie theater in January 2014 after the two men had a verbal altercation that became physical.

The defense presented only a single witness, whose testimony consumed the entirety of the jury’s day—defendant Curtis Reeves, himself.  Over the course of the day, 79-year-old Reeves was subject to a full two hours of direct questioning by Defense Counsel Richard Escobar, then another two full hours of cross-examination by Prosecutor Scott Rosenwasser, and finally a brief 10-minute re-direct by Escobar.

The bottom line:  Not only did the prosecution, already far short of disproving Reeves’ claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, not make progress towards achieving their burden of proof necessary for a legally meritorious conviction, they spent their two hours on cross-examination of Reeves flailing around pointlessly and actually losing ground on a guilty verdict.

This is a remarkable failure from a prosecution that has had, in effect, two chances to cross-examine this defendant at length and in minute detail—meaning at both the self-defense immunity hearing in which Reeves testified in 2017, and again yesterday—without managing to use that opportunity to advance their narrative of guilt in this case.

It was, in fact, a humiliating performance for Prosecutor Rosenwasser.

Popcorn Shooter Trial Day 9:  Reeves Testifies, Prosecution Train Wrecks on Cross, & Defense Rests
https://lawofselfdefense.com/podcast/popcorn-shooter-trial-day-9-reeves-testifies-prosecution-train-wrecks-on-cross-defense-rests/

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