I didn't find the defense aggressive or grandstanding when they cross examined KerR. Actually, I thought they even toned it down while she was on the stand. They questioned her about two different examples of false testimony (the time when KR pointed out her cracked taillight and that Kerry told the GJ she heard Karen say something that she never in fact heard but was only told had happened by JMc.
This is otherwise known as perjury no matter how sweet you come across as a person.
IIRC, they didn't cross examine her at all during Trial 1 so it was important that they point out these discrepancies in her various testimonies IMO.
As a point of interest to me, she testified at some point that she didn't want to "point the finger" at KR, which was very sweet to hear, and at the same time, she drove Peg and John Sr to the hospital and seemed to be pointing her finger at Karen for the entire trip, to the point that John Sr asked them to give Karen a break. Later, Peg didn't even talk to Karen when she saw her at the hospital and even asked a nurse why she was there! Why wouldn't the girlfriend who found John be there? Why was Peg so bitter after a car ride with KerR?
These are exactly the nuances that need to be flushed out.
Since you've done jury service in a murder case, you could also draw on that experience to know how crucial it is to the integrity of a trial for witnesses to provide consistent, truthful testimony.
MOO