Did Lawyers Blunder by Allowing Cranky Senator to Testify?
Sen. Ted Stevens toned down his hostility on the witness stand on Monday during his corruption trial, but some experts are wondering if the senator damaged his case during Friday questioning.
Stevens repeatedly challenged lead prosecutor Brenda Morris on Friday, but on Monday he was more muted as he said he did not intentionally conceal gifts not reported on financial disclosure forms, Legal Times reports. At one point he said a $2,700 Brookstone chair was merely a loan, even though he never returned it after seven years of use.
Stevens “is known to be a strong and at times intemperate personality,” Legal Times reports in a separate story. The New York Times refers to him as the “dour Alaska Republican whose ferocious temper is easily provoked.”
Stevens is represented by lawyers from Williams & Connolly.
On Friday, Stevens accused Morris of “making a lot of assumptions that are unwarranted.” At another point he complained, “You’re not listening to me.”
Morris asked Stevens whether was merely “covering his butt” when he asked for invoices for work done on his home. Stevens replied, “My bottom was not bare.”
Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, said it’s difficult to keep the defendant off the stand when a criminal case turns on intent. “I think the jury expects to hear that side of the story,” she told Legal Times.
But former federal prosecutor David Schertler of Schertler & Onorato said the defense had already made out a strong case, and he was surprised to see Stevens take the stand.
Closing arguments are scheduled for today, and the case is expected to go to the jury on Wednesday.
