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Friday 13 June 2008

"That's all I have"


There has been much debate in the press room at Middlesex Superior Court about the sometimes bizarre, and unexpectedly brief, questioning of witnesses by Neil Entwistle's defence team. 

Lawyer Elliot Weinstein, who has a different pair of cowboy boots for each day of the week, has been living up to his reputation as something of a maverick. 

But six days into the evidence, none of us can quite work out his strategy. 

Both Mr Weinstein and his co-counsel Stephanie Page have spent a little too much time questioning Rachel's relatives about tensions between the family's pets. 

There were bemused looks all round as Ms Page pressed Rachel's mother Priscilla Matterazzo repeatedly about how well her dog Cassie got along with Rachel's Basset Hound Sally.

On another occasion, Mr Weinstein burst into laughter after hearing from Joseph Matterazzo that the family also had four cats. 

"I'm curious," he joked, "Did the dogs and cats get along?"

After a police officer took the stand to talk about how Entwistle's white BMW was found at Boston Logan Airport, Mr Weinstein approached the podium to begin his cross examination. 

"So it was just a normal car pulled into a normal parking space?"

"Yes." 

"That's all I have," Mr Weinstein remarked as he returned to his seat. 

With the defence case expected to begin some time next week, I can't help but wonder just what else he does have. 

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