Word: lawyer
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...wonder. It revolves around a belligerently dying writer, played by John Gielgud, and the elaborate world of dreams, nightmares and artistic fantasies through which he carries out his suspicions, guilt jealousy and resentment toward his family. Gielgud's son, who is his fantasmagoria becomes a monstrously callous and emotionless lawyer and husband, is played with cruel, aristocratic brilliance by Dirk Bogard; the casting could not have been better. Ellen Burstyn, meanwhile, does not quite convince as the lawyer's wife; she's supposed to growl like a trapped domestic pet and take gleeful pleasure in taking on a lover...
...Gesualdo had the U.S. Supreme Court to blame for his difficulties. In the past, an accused criminal wishing to be his own lawyer-to act pro se, in legal terminology-had to convince a judge that he was competent to do the job. But in 1975 the Supreme Court held that the guaranteed right to counsel includes the defendant's right to be his own lawyer. Ruling in Faretta v. California, which concerned a man convicted of auto theft after his plea to defend himself had been denied, the high court said that Anthony Faretta should be retried...
...charged with the murder of a young woman cab driver, successfully delayed his trial proceedings by arguing 45 pretrial motions himself. The judge pressured Jackson into accepting a licensed attorney for the main trial, and when the jury acquitted him two weeks ago, Jackson petulantly refused to thank the lawyer. Still another self-defender was Clifford Irving, author of the bogus Howard Hughes biography. He responded to an IRS claim for more than $120,000 in back taxes by composing a 50-page legal brief and arguing the case in court...
Self-defense efforts are scorned by veteran attorneys. Asks Boston Lawyer-Author George Higgins: "If you had a brain tumor, would you operate on yourself?" But there are potential benefits. Judges sometimes tolerantly allow self-defenders to make statements, particularly in summation, for which a lawyer would be ruled in contempt of court. Moreover, by appearing to be bewildered by court procedures, a defendant can occasionally arouse sympathy for the underdog in judge or jury...
...California trial of Joseph Gesualdo, the judge allowed the lawyer-defendant to reconsider his abandonment of the case-a privilege that probably would not have been granted to an experienced attorney. But Gesualdo continued to encounter difficulties. He recalled a witness to emphasize the man's inability to identify him; the witness suddenly changed his mind and decided he did indeed remember him. Some courtroom observers thought Gesualdo might have obtained at least a hung jury if he had retained a lawyer clever enough to exploit weaknesses in the evidence against him. But after deliberating 50 minutes, the jury...