Word: weitzman
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...Lorean's shrewd and crafty defense attorneys, Howard Weitzman and Donald Rée, maintained a similar high pitch of righteous indignation throughout the trial. They portrayed their client as an embattled entrepreneur seeking to fulfill the American dream, a man himself the victim of a giant conspiracy: "Lured, lied to and pushed" into a trap set by Government agents who were "on a headlong rush to glory." The tactic was to put the Government on trial, and it worked. De Lorean never took the stand. Nor did his lawyers ever make a direct defense on the grounds...
...This was an attempt to send a message that this type of conduct in investigations and arrests will not be tolerated," Defense Attorney Weitzman declared of the decision. The jurors confirmed that for some of them at least, this was the case. "The whole thing makes me angry," said Juror Jo Ann Kerns, a department-store assistant manager. "What they did to De Lorean could happen to anyone. That's the message. People should understand that." Foreman William Lahr, an insurance claims adjuster, reported that the jury hoped the verdict "would indicate to the Government that they should...
...observer noted last week, "It all comes down to the fat man." The fat man is James Timothy Hoffman, the Government informant who helped orchestrate the video taped hotel-room negotiations in October 1982 that are key to the Government's charges against De Lorean. Defense Lawyer Howard Weitzman, having rattled a previous Government witness, predicted confidently, "I'm going to chop Hoffman up into little pieces...
After 14 days on the stand in Los Angeles, however, Hoffman was still unchopped. He gave lengthy testimony and shot off an occasional "Incorrect" or "That's not what I said" when he thought Weitzman was misleading him. Above all he was candid. Why had he become a Government informer? "To stay out of jail." Hadn't he evaded income taxes for seven years? "Yes." At one point Hoffman became so eloquent that even the most skeptical onlookers were impressed. Money was of course a factor in his Government work, he allowed, but so was "the small amount...
...admission led De Lorean's attorneys to request a dismissal on the ground of destruction of evidence. Tisa returned to the stand the next day and claimed he had not destroyed evidence. "You mean you lied yesterday?" challenged Weitzman. "No, I did not lie," Tisa said, "I was mistaken." He said that he had only disposed of "personal working notes" and that he had accidentally dated some entries 1983 although they were written in 1982. The agent admitted that he had been vehemently chastised by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Perry for his careless testimony the day before. Said Tisa...