In over 45 years of criminal defense practice – 13 as a public defender – I’ve defended and observed a couple of hundred criminal trials. In the relatively few of those in which an obviously guilty defendant testified, especially when against advice of counsel, I have witnessed the critical damage that can be inflicted by skilled prosecutors, when infused with and energized by their admirable primary mission to do justice, in cross examination. So I am anxious to watch the Harris-Trump debate because I predict it will result in the public evisceration Trump so richly deserves. And, because I believe he is terrified of this and of the lengthy prison sentences he also so richly deserves due to his egregious criminality, I will not be surprised if he weasels out, even though he and his handlers may believe he must risk debating due to Harris’ increasing popularity.
— Garth Smith, Santa Cruz
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