“Walked by my window and went in the door.”
“The door to the building?”
“That’s right.”
“Leading to upstairs?”
“That’s right.”
“You saw the woman go in this door?”
“That’s right.”
“Can you describe this woman?”
“Yes. She was a young woman with short, dark hair.”
“Had you ever seen her before?”
“I can’t be certain.”
“Well, that’s an honest answer,” Dirkson said. “Could you qualify that answer?”
“No, he could not,” Steve said. “Your Honor, while I hate to object to the prosecutor praising the veracity of his witnesses, I must object that that statement cannot be clarified. A witness is either certain or he isn’t.”
“Sustained. Could you rephrase the question, Mr. Dirkson?”
“Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Branstein, you say you cannot be certain of the identity of the person you saw going in the door?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you have any opinion as to who it might be?”
“Objection. Who it might be is not relevant.”
“Sustained.”
“Well, let me put it to you this way. Mr. Branstein, did you inform the police about the woman you saw entering the building?”
“Yes, I did.”
“After you informed the police of this, did there come a time when the police asked you to look at a lineup?”
“Yes, there did.”
“What happened at that time?”
“I was shown a lineup of five women.”
“And did you identify any of them?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
Dirkson frowned. “I didn’t ask
“As what, Your Honor?” Steve Winslow said.
“Exactly,” Judge Wylie said.
“Very well,” Dirkson said. “Did you recognize anyone as the woman you saw entering the building that night?”
“I said one of the women
“Objection.”
“Overruled. You can cross-examine on it.”
“You say one of the women
“That’s right.”
“And which one was that?”
“The defendant, Amy Dearborn.”
“Now let me be sure I understand this,” Dirkson said. “The police showed you a lineup with the defendant, Amy Dearborn in it. You picked her out of the lineup and identified her as the woman who might have been the woman you saw going into the building that night?”
“That’s right.”
“You can’t be certain that she was the woman you saw going into the building at that time, but you can’t be certain she wasn’t?”
“That’s right.”
“Is there anything in the defendant’s physical characteristics that was
“No, there is not.”
“There’s nothing about her that would indicate she is not that woman?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“The short brown hair that you describe was identical to the defendant’s?”
“That is right.”
“And while you say you cannot make a positive identification, you did pick her out of a lineup?”
“Objection.”
“Sustained.”
“Did you pick the defendant out of a lineup?”
“Yes, I did.”
Dirkson smiled triumphantly. “Very good, Mr. Branstein. Now, with regard to the other person you saw. Was that a man or a woman.”
“It was a man.”
“What time did you see this man?”
“At nine o’clock.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I was just closing up my shop.”
“You always close at nine?”
“Yes, I do.”
“And you closing your shop when you saw him?”
“That’s right. I was out on the sidewalk, closing up. He walked by me and went in the door.”
“Can you describe this man?”
“Yes, I can. He was a young man with long brown hair. Shoulder length.”
“How was he dressed?”
“In a T-shirt and blue jeans.”
“What was your impression of this man?”
“He looked like a hippie. At first, I thought he was a customer come to buy a guitar. In which case he was out of luck, because I was closed. But he walked right on by and went in the door.”
“Would you know this man if you saw him again?”
Branstein frowned. “That’s a very tough question. To be absolutely fair, I would have to say no.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to testify to anything you weren’t sure of,” Dirkson said.
“Oh, Your Honor,” Steve Winslow said.
“Exactly,” Judge Wylie snapped. “Mr. Dirkson, if we could control such side comments.”
“Sorry, Your Honor. Anyway, you say it was around nine o’clock when this man went inside?”
“That’s right.”
“Mr. Branstein, let me ask you this. Did you have any reason to pay any attention to either of these individuals at the time that you saw them?”
“No, I did not.”
“You had no idea a murder had been committed?”
“No, of course not.”
“Or that the office had been robbed?”
“No. I didn’t know that either.”
“So you had no idea what you saw might be at all important?”
“No, I did not.”
“And when did you learn it might?”
“Later that evening.”
