These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place. ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?' ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My name is Susan! _______________________________ ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact? WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth? WITNESS: July 18th. ATTORNEY: What year? WITNESS: Every year. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you? WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which. ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you? WITNESS: Forty-five years. _________________________________ ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory? WITNESS: I forget.. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot? ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam? ____________________________________ ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ. ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken? WITNESS: Are you kiddding me? ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: She had three children , right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney? ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death.. ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? WITNESS: Take a guess. ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual? WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female? WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________ ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people? WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight. _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to? WITNESS: Oral... _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time? WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished. ______________________________________ And last: ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No.. ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Love of music not natural but learnt

A new study by University of Melbourne researchers has concluded that our love of music and appreciation of musical harmony is learnt and not based on natural ability. Associate Professor Neil McLachlan from the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences said previous theories about how we appreciate music were based on the physical properties of sound, the ear itself and an innate ability to hear harmony. "Our study shows that musical harmony can be learnt and it is a matter of training the brain to hear the sounds. So if you thought that the music of some exotic culture (or Jazz) sounded like the wailing of cats, it's simply because you haven't learnt to listen by their rules," said Associate Professor McLachlan. The researchers used 66 volunteers with a range of musical training and tested their ability to hear combinations of notes to determine if they found the combinations familiar or pleasing. "What we found was that people needed to be familiar with sounds created by combinations of notes before they could hear the individual notes. If they couldn't find the notes they found the sound dissonant or unpleasant," he said. This finding overturns centuries of theories that physical properties of the ear determine what we find appealing, he added. Coauthor on the study Associate Professor Sarah Wilson also from the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences said the study found that trained musicians were much more sensitive to dissonance than non-musicians. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

IFAB mulling over putting in electronic body monitors on players uniforms in event of Muambas stroke

Football officials are thinking about considering trials of an electronic chip in the shirts of players which could warn them about any medical problems, in light of the heart attack suffered by footballer Fabrice Muamba on the pitch. The International FA Board (IFAB), the football law body would be asked to consider the decision during its upcoming annual meeting, the Independent reports. Favouring the move, chief executive of the Scottish FA, Stewart Regan said that it will be advantageous if the chips could warn of any health problems so that there is no repeat of the Muamba incident. Regan said that the chips, which would be fixed in the collar of a player's shirt, can feed back vital data like heart performance, body temperature and the distance covered by the player. The IFAB is likely to ask for a trial to take place before any permanent decision is made, the paper added. Muamba collapsed during an FA Cup tie at Tottenham in March 2012 after his heart stopped for 78 minutes before doctors saved him.

Astronaut duets with musician on first song ever to be written and recorded in space

A Canadian astronaut teamed up with Barenaked Ladies singer Ed Robertson for a performance that is out of this world. Astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded a song with Robertson from 250 miles above our planet aboard the International Space Station. 'I.S.S (Is Somebody Singing?)' is the first track ever to be written and recorded in space, the Daily Mail reported. Hadfield strums his guitar and sings on the International Space station while Robertson has his feet firmly on the ground. The astronaut's performance was transmitted via satellite where it was mixed at a studio in Toronto Back on Earth, the Wexford Gleeks choir, from Wexford School for Arts, sang alongside Ed Robertson in the studio. The pair wrote it together before the collaboration was recorded. "We've been pals for a long time and it just seemed like a fun thing to do," Robertson told CBC Music, the digital music streaming service behind the project. Commander Hadfield has been writing songs in space and is now planning to record an entire album.