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ALAN: |
I
thought we were late today. |
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MARTIN: |
No.
We're on time. The judge is a little late. |
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ALAN: |
Will today be about the same as yesterday? |
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MARTIN: |
I
think so. Today we should hear the defendant. |
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ALAN: |
The
defendant is the person on trail, isn't he? |
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MARTIN: |
That's right. Yesterday we heard Miss Richards. |
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ALAN: |
She's the plaintiff? |
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MARTIN: |
That's right. She was very forceful, wasn't she? |
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ALAN: |
I
liked the way she talked to the lawyer. She seemed very confident.
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MARTIN: |
Maybe too confident. Maybe the judge won't believe her. |
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ALAN: |
Why? |
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MARTIN: |
He
may think that little man couldn't rob her. |
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ALAN: |
He's not little. He's short, but he isn't little. |
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MARTIN: |
Could he rob such a tall, confident woman? |
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ALAN: |
Of
course. |
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MARTIN: |
Maybe the judge won't think so. |
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ALAN: |
Where is the defendant? |
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MARTIN: |
Do
you remember how Miss Richards described him? |
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ALAN: |
Sure. I see what you mean. That man must be the defendant. He's the
shortest man here. |
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MARTIN: |
And
the fattest. |
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ALAN: |
Not
fat. Remember. She said he was heavy. |
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MARTIN: |
He
probably weighs over two hundred pounds. He weighs as much as the
judge. |
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ALAN: |
But
the judge is tall. |
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MARTIN: |
How
would you describe Miss Richards? |
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ALAN: |
Hummm. Well, she's tall. She's certainly not fat. |
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MARTIN: |
What else? |
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ALAN: |
I
can't see her face. But I remember her eyes from yesterday. She has
brown eyes. Her nose is average--not big, not little. She looked
tired yesterday. |
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MARTIN: |
Anything else? |
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ALAN: |
Her
hands are large. They were very busy. |
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MARTIN: |
What do you mean, busy? |
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ALAN: |
They moved a lot. She kept moving her hands while she talked. |
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MARTIN: |
I
think the trial is about to begin. |
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MR. D: |
Thank you, Miss Richards. Yesterday, you described the defendant as
short and fat. |
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MISS R: |
I
did not. I said he was very short and heavy. |
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MR. D: |
Oh,
yes. Short and heavy. You don't like the word fat. May I ask why?
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MISS R: |
I
was heavy once. I didn't like being called fat. |
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MS. P: |
Mr.
Daniels! Is this relevant? I object. |
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MISS R: |
I
don't mind answering. I like to describe people only in positive
ways, not in negative ways. |
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MARTIN: |
What did you think, Alan? Did you learn something from the trial?
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ALAN: |
Yes. I liked it. The people were interesting, weren't they? |
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MARTIN: |
Was
it like the movies? |
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ALAN: |
Almost. I understood what was going on. Thanks for going with me,
dad. |
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