Enron trial woodshedding leads witness to chopping block?
leads to?
The New York Times reports prosecutor Sean Berkowitz made a nationally known trial consultant's woodshedding skills an issue in his cross examination of Jeffrey Skilling.
Woodshedding is a term attorneys use to refer to the process of preparing a witness to testify. Musicians use woodshedding as a synonym for rehearsal. Berkowitz's cross focused on Skilling's rehearsal time with Dr. Reiko Hasuike:
At one point, Mr. Berkowitz asked Mr. Skilling about his use of a jury consultant, Reiko Hasuike, to sharpen his testimony and come across as more persuasive to jurors. Mr. Berkowitz displayed Ms. Hasuike's Web site to show jurors the kinds of services she specializes in.
Mr. Skilling conceded that he had corrected pieces of testimony after consulting with his lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, during breaks. He said Ms. Hasuike helped him simplify his answers. "I tend to get technical," he said.
Query: why wasn't Skilling communications with Dr. Hasuike privileged? If defense counsel hires the consultant--and the attorney participates and oversees the witness preparation sessions, why wouldn't they be? Surely the attorneys didn't let Skilling work with Hasuike alone!
Of interest, when I visit R & D Strategic Solutions, Dr. Hasuike's organization, her profile disn't open. She and some of the other principles in the firm formerly were with DecisionQuest.