"The man put his dick in his wife. "

After the Rachel Goldberg bombshell, the rest of Steve Shapiro's testimony regarding Jon Goldberg was a disaster. More so during direct questioning than cross examination.

With one of his own questions, Deputy District Attorney Luke Bernthal revealed some of his planning of this case. He found out Shapiro was going to be a character witness for Goldberg. He asked Shapiro about that in court today.

The timing of the prosecution's decision to have Fortuna Police Department  interview Shapiro again, months before the trial; then have the prosecution interview him; then add him to the prosecution list as their witness  is important.

Shapiro had said previously he did not want to answer questions in this case; Mr. Bernthal knew that; he knew Shapiro had no experience with anything legal and Shapiro was not provided a lawyer until today.

That does affect how one views the inconsistencies in Shapiro's testimony Mr. Bernthal tried to play up in court today.

Not getting what he wanted from Shapiro, Mr. Bernthal went back and forth between statements Shapiro gave to Fortuna Police Department and the District Attorney and what he testified to in court today.

It was confusing listening to Mr. Bernthal sometimes. He kept jumping around statements and timelines. At one point, Judge Graham Cribbs had to clarify the date in a question asked by Mr. Bernthal because Shapiro spoke to Fortuna Police twice.

Whether Shapiro's testimony benefits either or both sides at all, remains to be seen. There were some inconsistencies between Shapiro's statements to police and his testimony today but that has been true of other witnesses too.

If it is okay for the prosecution key witnesses to say the day was a blur or I cannot recall or it has been a while, then why is not okay for the defense?

Mr. Russo's cross examination provided some insights into Shapiro's state of mind. Then again, Mr. Russo was not being intimidating and questioned Shapiro logically and calmly.

"You were put in the middle of the situation. It wasn't something you asked for. You weren't sure where you stood in terms of liability?" Mr. Russo asked Shapiro during cross examination.

Shapiro tried to convey this during direct questioning but Mr Bernthal was too busy firing questions at Shapiro.

Mr. Bernthal cut off  a response by Shapiro and Judge Graham Cribbs had to allow Shapiro to finish his answer.

Shapiro did say Jon Goldberg admitted to shooting Tim Smith. He had an explaination why he used murdered in a statement to Fortuna Police Department. Shapiro said he used that term reading about this case in the media.

That explaination wasn't good enough for Mr. Bernthal. It was not good enough for Mr. Bernthal that Shapiro told him, he could go from one room to another and not remember things.

Mr. Bernthal's badgering his own witness resulted in one admonition from the bench and two sidebars between the attorneys and Judge.

Deputy  District Attorney Luke Bernthal nit picked over Shapiro responses. The example below is just one of those times. Shapiro did not answer in court today with the statement being worded the way Deputy DA Bernthal used in his opening statement.

Mr. Bernthal: "Did Jon Goldberg tell you why he killed Mr. Smith?"

Shapiro: "The man put his dick in his wife. He said that more in disbelief that happened."

Bernthal: "Didn't you say to Fortuna Police Department because the guy dicked his wife?"

Shapiro cannot explain away everything but  he isn't a witness the prosecution should have called.

The prosecution could have just cross examined Shapiro when the defense called him as a character witness.

Mr. Bernthal's desperation is showing because he keeps dragging out questioning for hours when he does not get the anseer he wants. Being repetitive over and over again does not change the outcome. He is not getting anywhere with certain witnesses.

I left a bit early before today's afternoon session ended because it does not matter how many times Mr. Bernthal or Mr. Russo would question Shapiro on redirect and recross.

I have not left early in any jury trial I have covered, let alone a murder trial.

The prosecution case has been  torturous since the beginning but in the last two days, there is only so much of prosecution's bungling presentation of this case that one can sit through. Testimony that isn't going anywhere for hours. Two and three hour lunch breaks because the prosecution can't get their act together about scheduling.

Every time the prosecution gets a strong and credible witness such as Deputy Coroner Jamie Barney or DA Investigator Martin Perrone or Forensic Pathologist Dr. Mark Super; the effect is undone by  witness testimony that backfires on the prosecution.

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