I have a confession to make.
I rehearse my court testimony. Sometimes in my patrol car. Talking to myself I suppose.
This had an odd effect today, because as I was rehearsing for a carpool lane violation I realized I had made a mistake during another carpool testimony the previous week. I realized why my guy was found not guilty, even though it was pretty much a slam dunk.
Hint: It generally helps when you mention that the driver was the only occupant of the vehicle on carpool violations.
This is part of the reason I love going to traffic court. I really dig the challenge of having to get EVERYTHING right, and spit it all out in the right order. And, when I eff it all up, I learn from it and don't repeat the mistake.
I have been told that my testimony flows well. I have been asked to help others with their testimony. I have even had people adopt parts of my style.
Some people abhor traffic court. Not me. I guess I'm just weird or something.
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6 comments:
You're weird, honey, trust me.
I have always prided myself on my courtroom testimony and preparation - and I have found it a great mark of how good of an officer a lot of people really are. If you pay attention to these details, then you do to the others in my book...
Plus, it's fun to play the game with the defense attorneys :D Especially when you win, or even better when they want to plea out because the LAST thing they want is you testifying to what happened. That's when you know you learned it right.
and to hit your original point - we ALL make mistakes doing it & the challenge is not to take it personally and to learn from it... at least in my opinion.
I'm just gonna second mrs. smith and say you are weird. There are a few things out there that irritate me as much as testifying in court does. Well, there's something. At least one thing. Give me a minute... maybe I can come up with something........
no..... maybe not.
Yeah...I was reading in a back issue of APB that you should orally practice before testimonies, interviews, etc. That way you can make sure it will flow smoothly from your head to your mouth. ;)
I've cross-examined many officers (in NY) about field sobriety tests. They always get something wrong. Sometimes they get a lot wrong. Maybe it's just the training in NY. But I suspect you just haven't faced a tough cross yet.
You're just Precious!!
-Dispatcher
(Thats what my officer calls me when he catches me doing that!)
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