Defense lawyers know that a good defense is to sling mud by making assertions that besmirch the character of the victim.
A defense lawyer understands disparate claims are being made, mostly unsupported by more than testimony. So the central issue becomes credibility. The charge itself is an attack on that with regard to the defendant. The defense then has only a few ways to combat that. They'll note the lack of physical evidence, witnesses and the passage of time between the alleged event and the allegation at law. Lastly, but importantly, they'll bring into question the credibility of any witness for the prosecution. And they should. A jury needs to know if the person they're being told to believe has a reputation for being more or less than credible.
It isn't mannered, but courtrooms aren't that. They're battle grounds with people's lives and fortunes at stake.
And going for the pity party works well also. Note the hobbling gait and hanging face displayed whilst being aided to walk by kindly men on each side of his ailing self? :luigi::allsmile::mario:
Theater. But a decent prosecutor can use the attempt to his advantage, if he's sharp enough. An actor, acting. Convincingly even. The way he acted the part of a benign, helpful mentor, of a trustworthy friend, of a fatherly figure in a few cases. How he appeared to be one thing and underneath that mask was a predator. It begs a simple summation...something like, off the cuff...
"Mr. Cosby's greatest performance was never seen on any theater screen, stage or television. It was, instead, the role he played for us away from those, one crafted with guile, calculation and a force of personality that was undeniable, parlaying our good will and his ability into a beloved status, wearing the guise of a decent, caring human being. And it worked. It worked for decades, bringing the man adulation, wealth, esteem... and victims. Victims dazzled, or drawn or fooled by it all, as we were. As our wives and mothers and daughters were. One after the other. Decade after decade. Victim after victim.
All we saw was a projection, not the man...only Bill Cosby's victims saw the man, saw what was behind that mask, if mostly through a drug induced stupor. The weapon of a coward, the act of a predator. Only his victims met the real Bill Cosby. And in the aftermath? Most were too frightened to take on that persona and the weight of his public status, the thing they had believed in too. Can you blame them? Wounded, used, faced with challenging his word?
I can't. They knew what we couldn't. And they knew we wouldn't believe, wouldn't want to believe it. He counted on that. And in a way he used us too.
Well, that stops here. You've heard the testimony, witness after witness. You know the facts. The truth follows them. Your duty is clear as it is simple, do justice. Convict Bill Cosby of his crimes."
So being an actor can be turned against him. It depends on the prosecutor.
