BNN just conducted an interview with Terry Sullivan, a Chicago lawyer, former prosecutor and watcher of the Conrad Black trial. When asked if Gordon Paris had been a good witness, Csr. Sullivan replied that Mr. Paris had been "good enough;" he’s there to “lay the groundwork” for the prosecution’s case.
The prosecution, according to Csr. Sullivan, seems to have it relatively easy. The jurors's life experiences don't encompass corporate jets, et. al., and few people have the stamina to get through the minutiae of the trial without getting bored. So, they're likely to remember a memorable factoid, just as the jury in the Gov. Ryan case remembered a Jamaica vacation.
It won't be a cake-walk for the prosecution, though. A witness after Mr. Paris said that non-compete payments are legitimate, so all the defense has to show is that the non-compete payments received by Hollinger Inc., Ravelston, Black himself, et. al., did remove a real competitive threat from all of the receivers. If successful, the defendants will be acquitted of all the charges that result from those payments. In addition, as brought up by one of the interviewers, the "fame factor" is a hurdle that the prosecutors have to get around: how could luminaries such as Henry Kissinger be snookered?
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