u/ReverseFlow23

The title might be a little confusing, so I'll elaborate.

Cold Case has covered a broad range of victims. From doctors to circus performers, athletes to attorneys, the list goes on. So I was thinking about different jobs or career paths that weren't covered by CC. Ones that you think would make for a good episode.

One path that I think would be fun is a magician from the 80's. The opening song could be "Abracadabra" by The Steve Miller band. Maybe they were relatively new and looking to make a name for themselves by pulling off some controversial trick and it pissed a lot of people off or something idk. I just think it would lend itself to being a fun episode, you could have the detectives sift through an array of quirky magicians and making snarky comments about magic throughout.

But enough about my answer, what's yours?

I'm not necessarily referring to the testimony itself, but rather the decision to testify in the first place. I get why the show does it as much as they have, but still.

What episode stands out to you as a particularly poor decision? Maybe the defense's case was going really well beforehand and it felt unnecessary, maybe they had too much baggage that wouldn't play well with the jury, maybe they just simply weren't very articulate/likable, that kind of thing.

For me, the episode that comes to mind is Eddie Newman in "Showtime" (S7 E17). The defense was doing a good job at poking holes in the State's case. McCoy (or maybe Ross, I forget) even says at one point that they're getting "creamed". Newman's decision to take the stand was puzzling to me. He wasn't particularly charming to begin with and the story he told the jury was just too convoluted to believe. Not to mention, he completely imploded under cross-examination.

I'm not saying an acquittal was guaranteed, but it would've been a hell of a lot more likely if he had just declined to testify.

Usually the evidence is overwhelming and they'd be doomed at trial, but I was wondering if there are any cases that come to mind where you felt like the evidence against them wasn't particularly overwhelming and they might've been better off taking their chances in court.

Edit: I'm not asking for defedants who should have pleaded guilty. I'm asking for defendants who should NOT have

There are plenty of instances of prosecutors overcharging cases or being too aggressive in the courtroom and turning the jury off, but what are some trials where you felt like it was the opposite?

Maybe their cross-exams were too timid, maybe their opening/closing arguments lacked energy, maybe they didn't spend enough time on certain pieces of evidence, that kind of thing.