Word: schmier
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Dates: during 1971-1971
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...mention of lawyers provokes a heated discussion about prosecutors. "There's a guy named Davenport." "Yeah, he's good but Schmier sums up better." "This Brownstein is not bad." "Then there's this kid Belson. He's just 27, but we think he'll go a long way." As for defense lawyers, the buffs' favorite by far is F. Lee Bailey. "When he sums up, he doesn't even have notes," says Louis Richter, 67, a retired clerk for American Express. "He does it all from his head. Oh, he's good...
Others give the buffs an even higher rating. "I'd say they are 95% accurate," says Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Schmier. "You go out into the hallways during a courtroom recess and hear them discussing cases. You'd think you were listening to a Harvard professor. A couple of months ago, I had a prosecution witness from the underworld who I thought had been terrific. I asked the buffs, and they said they didn't believe him. Sure enough, the defendant was acquitted...
Legal Aid Society Attorney Ruth Moskowitz likes them for another reason. "Let's face it, all lawyers are hams. We do better when there are spectators." Adds Prosecutor Schmier: "I value them as much as I do my own witnesses. I circulate among them during recesses and use them as a sounding board. I call them my second jury. If I can't sell a witness to them, then how can I sell him to my first jury...
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