This first witness Dr Michelle Burger made an excellent witness for the prosecution, in their attempt to nullify Oscars sworn affidavit that he and Reeva were in bed by 10 pm and went to sleep shortly after he had watched some TV and Reeva completed her yoga exercises. She was articulate poised and forthright in her views and wasn't intimidated by Rouxs barrage of trick questions which were meant to make her nervous doubt her own recollections of the night in question eat her words and cast aspirations on her own testimony in her sworn testimony to the detective who visited her home and wrote down her statement in Afrikaans even though in it she only used the words I heard a Women scream, the judge in her wisdom has noted the difference in her statement given to the police and her testimony in her court. It is the duty of the Defense Attorney to point out any lacuna or inconsistencies in the prosecutions witnesses testimony and try to create doubts in the mind of the judge where none exist and try his level best to tie her up in knots; this is what he gets paid for to use any legitimate means approved by the court to defend his client and ensure his client gets a fair trial even though there exists a mountain of evidence that will prove his client is guilty as charged of premeditated murder.
It was the duty of the Prosecutor Andre Nel to raise objections to Roux attempt to discredit her testimony and misdirect the court but for some odd reason he was quite muted, maybe he has many more witnesses who will back up Dr Burgers testimony. I only hope that Nel makes them stick to their written and sworn testimonies to the investigation team, sadly it was left to Dr Burger to remind the court that Rouxs cross examination questions should be directed at his client Oscar Pistorius and not her! Some members have already cast doubts about the competence of the Lady Judge which is totally uncalled for given that today was only the first day and she has to be totally unbiased and shown to be fair in her rulings and judgments, she has to display at all times that she is the boss of her court and wont be swayed by slander and innuendo under any circumstances. A female judge was selected for the sole reason that South Africa has a very high rate of crime committed against women by men known to them; this should be sufficient food for thought for some members who are rushing to judgement with no evidence to prove their arguments.
University lecturer Michelle Burger did give Roux a well deserved knockout punch in his solar plexus when he attempted to insinuate that she was lying that she could have gone back to sleep after heard the blood curling petrifying screams of a women at 3 am and concluded along with her husband that something terrible was happening in that home, when she angrily reminded the court and the judge that her sisters baby died on Friday and she slept and she sleeps well after traumatic events. Had she reminded the Court that she has been a Women ALL her life, therefore recognizing and differentiating between a womens life threatening screams which woke her up along with her husband on a silent night at 3 am followed by a Mans cry for help, cannot be questioned whatever may be the circumstances, that made her conclude innocently and rightly so that robbers where attacking and brutally murdering their targeted victims in a home nearby.
It was the duty of the Prosecutor Andre Nel to raise objections to Roux attempt to discredit her testimony and misdirect the court but for some odd reason he was quite muted, maybe he has many more witnesses who will back up Dr Burgers testimony. I only hope that Nel makes them stick to their written and sworn testimonies to the investigation team, sadly it was left to Dr Burger to remind the court that Rouxs cross examination questions should be directed at his client Oscar Pistorius and not her! Some members have already cast doubts about the competence of the Lady Judge which is totally uncalled for given that today was only the first day and she has to be totally unbiased and shown to be fair in her rulings and judgments, she has to display at all times that she is the boss of her court and wont be swayed by slander and innuendo under any circumstances. A female judge was selected for the sole reason that South Africa has a very high rate of crime committed against women by men known to them; this should be sufficient food for thought for some members who are rushing to judgement with no evidence to prove their arguments.
University lecturer Michelle Burger did give Roux a well deserved knockout punch in his solar plexus when he attempted to insinuate that she was lying that she could have gone back to sleep after heard the blood curling petrifying screams of a women at 3 am and concluded along with her husband that something terrible was happening in that home, when she angrily reminded the court and the judge that her sisters baby died on Friday and she slept and she sleeps well after traumatic events. Had she reminded the Court that she has been a Women ALL her life, therefore recognizing and differentiating between a womens life threatening screams which woke her up along with her husband on a silent night at 3 am followed by a Mans cry for help, cannot be questioned whatever may be the circumstances, that made her conclude innocently and rightly so that robbers where attacking and brutally murdering their targeted victims in a home nearby.
Just popped over to the other thread and will send a pm, will be nice to have a fellow saffer here.
