issue a trespass warning, telling Andrea she'd be arrested if she came
back into the store. When he saw her again in January, he called the
police.
My cross was quick.
'Was Ms. Martin convicted for shoplifting merchandise in November from
Dress You Up?' No. 'Was Ms. Martin even arrested for shoplifting
merchandise in November from Dress You Up?' No. 'Do you have any
information to provide to the jury regarding whether Frank Derringer
raped and attempted to murder Andrea Martin's daughter, Kendra, last
February?' No.
I couldn't help but give a look to the jury after I finished my cross
of Richardson, just to make sure they got the point. I'd never seen
such a desperate defense.
My confidence began to feel misplaced when Lopez rose for redirect. 'A
point of clarification, Mr. Richardson. You testified that you
couldn't actually see what Ms. Martin stole in November, but that you
were left with the impression that she was concealing something, is
that correct?'
'Yes. Like I said, she was carrying a large shopping bag and it looked
like her hand passed over it and she stuffed something in there, but I
couldn't actually see what it would have been.'
Lopez used the old trick of looking at Richardson curiously, like she'd
just realized something for the first time. 'Interesting. You say
that it looked like she 'stuffed' something in the bag, not that she
merely 'dropped' something. Why is that?'
Richardson thought a moment. 'Well, just the way her arms moved. It
was like she was struggling with the bag.'
'As if the object she were placing in the bag were relatively large?'
she asked.
This was getting ridiculous, so I piped up. 'Objection, your honor.
Leading and vague.'
'Sustained.'
This shows why I rarely object at trial. Once the leading question has
been asked, the damage has been done if there's a rapport between the
questioning attorney and the witness. Even though my objection was
sustained, Lopez followed up by asking Richardson, 'What size would you
estimate the object to be that you thought you saw Ms. Martin conceal
in the bag?'
Richardson's response was predictable. 'Relatively large. Bigger than
a pair of earrings or something. Maybe a shirt or something bulkier
like that.'
Lopez then moved to the table at the front of the courtroom where the
physical evidence that had been introduced lay. She picked up the
plastic bag containing Kendra's purse. 'I'm showing you a purse that
has been marked as State's Evidence Three, which prior witnesses have
identified as Kendra Martin's purse, a gift from her mother Andrea. Is
it possible that you saw Andrea Martin hide this purse in her bag last
November in Dress You Up?'
'Sure, it's possible.'
After Richardson left the stand, Lopez called Geraldine Maher, the
store manager who barred Andrea from Dress You Up. I had expected
Lopez to continue her questioning about the supposed theft incident,
although I couldn't see why it would matter if Andrea stole the purse
she gave Kendra from Dress You Up. But Lopez had something else in
mind.
'Ms. Maher, as the manager of Dress You Up, are you generally
knowledgeable about the merchandise that you stock in the store?'
'Of course. We're a fairly small store, so I take pride in knowing our
inventory well.' Never put it past a retailer to take advantage of any
opportunity to get in a free plug.
Lopez picked up the purse again. 'I'm showing you a purse that's been
marked State's Evidence Three. Has Dress You Up ever stocked a purse
like this one?'
'Yes. We've carried that purse. I believe it's an Esprit.'
Lopez pretended to check the small cloth label sewed on the side of the
purse. 'Correct indeed, Ms. Maher. You do know your inventory.' The
Home Shopping Network banter was killing me. What was going on here?
Lopez continued. 'Could this purse have been on your shelves last
November, when Kerry Richardson thought he saw Andrea Martin steal
something from the store?'
'Yes. We would have gotten that in around June. I think we may still
have a couple in the store. It's a relatively popular style.'
'So you had this style in stock last October, is that correct?'
'That's right. June of last year until at least the after-Christmas
sales, and we may have one or two left still on clearance.'
