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Why is it bad to testify in your own case? I have heard this from time to time but have not understood it. Is it not your chance to tell it like it is?

by mongol 3y ago

achenet 3y ago
If you're not very charismatic, or rather, very not charismatic, you can undermine your own defense.
- outside1234 3y ago
  Also the prosecution then has the ability to rain questions on you. When you are super guilty, that typically doesn't go well.
  - SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
    Yep. They will ask some questions they can prove the answers to, and those will usually be the ones that implicate you. If you lie, they'll call all your other testimony into question, as well as get you at least one perjury charge! If you don't lie, you admitted to the crime you committed, and could have saved a lot of hassle by pleading guilty to begin with. If you plead the 5th, it's officially the same as if you'd never testified to begin with, but juries may still be biased to see that as you attempting to hide something you're guilty about. Better to avoid testifying at all.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
wmf 3y ago
It's bad for SBF to testify because he's such a weird person. If he can't present himself sympathetically the jury may interpret that as lack of remorse.
- kosievdmerwe 3y ago
  Yeah it'd be a very bad idea for him to get up on the stand, but I'm putting large odds on it happening despite his lawyers' warnings. But who knows, maybe having his bail revoked gave him some perspective of how seriously he should take this and that he isn't a legal genius.
taeric 3y ago
My understanding is that, in general, you don't want to testify period. Even just being called as a witness is a difficult thing to do, as you are entering an arena that you are almost certainly not practiced at. You will slip up and say some things wrong. And you will have a hard time keeping your composure and actually connecting with the attorneys, judge, and jury. For a witness, this really just means more stress than you were likely expecting going into the process. For someone actually involved in the trial, I imagine it is everything multiplied.
rconti 3y ago
The burden of proof is on the prosecution. If they can't prove that you did something wrong, you are more likely to get off. Your lawyers can poke holes in the prosecution's case ("cast doubt" on it). Make it look like a weak case. Getting on the stand and explaining an alternate timeline actually give the prosecution MORE evidence, from the horse's mouth. They can find new things you did wrong, they can find inconsistencies in your story, inconsistencies between what you said today and what you said last week. You're likely to commit perjury. You're not expected to convince the jury of an alternate timeline, you just need them to NOT believe the very specific one the prosecution lays out.
- shapefrog 3y ago
  It is a bit like the "Don't Talk to the Police" meme https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36371237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36371237
recursivecaveat 3y ago
In general it's hard for the prosecution to bring up evidence of prior, unrelated convictions or wrongdoing. If you take the stand they are allowed to bring it up to impune your credibility as a witness though. Doesn't really apply to SBF, but it's an additional reason to those others have stated for anybody with a criminal past.

Why is it bad to testify in your own case? I have heard this from time to time but have not understood it. Is it not your chance to tell it like it is?

by mongol 3y ago

Why is it bad to testify in your own case? I have heard this from time to time but have not understood it. Is it not your chance to tell it like it is?

achenet 3y ago

If you're not very charismatic, or rather, very not charismatic, you can undermine your own defense.

outside1234 3y ago
Also the prosecution then has the ability to rain questions on you. When you are super guilty, that typically doesn't go well.
- SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
  Yep. They will ask some questions they can prove the answers to, and those will usually be the ones that implicate you. If you lie, they'll call all your other testimony into question, as well as get you at least one perjury charge! If you don't lie, you admitted to the crime you committed, and could have saved a lot of hassle by pleading guilty to begin with. If you plead the 5th, it's officially the same as if you'd never testified to begin with, but juries may still be biased to see that as you attempting to hide something you're guilty about. Better to avoid testifying at all.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

wmf 3y ago

It's bad for SBF to testify because he's such a weird person. If he can't present himself sympathetically the jury may interpret that as lack of remorse.

kosievdmerwe 3y ago
Yeah it'd be a very bad idea for him to get up on the stand, but I'm putting large odds on it happening despite his lawyers' warnings. But who knows, maybe having his bail revoked gave him some perspective of how seriously he should take this and that he isn't a legal genius.

taeric 3y ago

My understanding is that, in general, you don't want to testify period. Even just being called as a witness is a difficult thing to do, as you are entering an arena that you are almost certainly not practiced at. You will slip up and say some things wrong. And you will have a hard time keeping your composure and actually connecting with the attorneys, judge, and jury. For a witness, this really just means more stress than you were likely expecting going into the process. For someone actually involved in the trial, I imagine it is everything multiplied.

rconti 3y ago

The burden of proof is on the prosecution. If they can't prove that you did something wrong, you are more likely to get off. Your lawyers can poke holes in the prosecution's case ("cast doubt" on it). Make it look like a weak case. Getting on the stand and explaining an alternate timeline actually give the prosecution MORE evidence, from the horse's mouth. They can find new things you did wrong, they can find inconsistencies in your story, inconsistencies between what you said today and what you said last week. You're likely to commit perjury. You're not expected to convince the jury of an alternate timeline, you just need them to NOT believe the very specific one the prosecution lays out.

shapefrog 3y ago
It is a bit like the "Don't Talk to the Police" meme https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36371237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36371237

recursivecaveat 3y ago

In general it's hard for the prosecution to bring up evidence of prior, unrelated convictions or wrongdoing. If you take the stand they are allowed to bring it up to impune your credibility as a witness though. Doesn't really apply to SBF, but it's an additional reason to those others have stated for anybody with a criminal past.