The Verdict's Take On The Prosecution's Closing Statement

Tonight's episode of The Verdict had a short segment on Judy Ruder's closing argument, with Hugh Totten as the sole guest. Csr. Totten started off by proclaiming that the prosecution “hit a home run today.” He evaluated Csr. Ruder's performance as a “terrific” presentation for a 6-7 hour speech. He praised her for her in-depth presentation of the evidence. She challenged the defense’s argument that the payments were disclosed by saying that disclosures were neither full nor accurate. Regarding the ostrich instruction, or “conscious-avoidance” instruction: it hits on the co-chief theory of Conrad Black’s defense. But, the instruction might hit Jack Boultbee and Peter Atkinson more. Csr. Totten noted that its inclusion could result in a successful appeal. It's a very controversial instruction. It wasn’t mentioned that much in the closing argument; it might make up one of the themes in the prosecutorial reply.

Conrad Black was “stone-faced” all through it, but Csr. Totten estimates that Mr. Black “didn’t have a good day.”

When asked by Ms. Todd why the jury relates to Csr. Ruder, Csr.Totten replied, she didn’t get into a fight or get emotional in the courtroom earlier; she stayed level-headed.