As a Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal I find myself in the courtroom from time to time. Those
individuals who testify at a trial do so under oath. Therefore, they usually tell the truth.
However, every once in a while a witness will become reluctant, or the defendant will take
the stand doing his best to deny he committed the crime. This usually provides us with some
interesting statements. Listed below are some of the more recent ones I have heard.
"All I can say is we did not talk about selling drugs."
When the witness says "all I can say" he is telling us he can only share limited information.
However his limitation is not bound by his knowledge. He did not say "All I know." His limitation
is bound by the fact that he does not want to incriminate himself or someone else.
"I don't recall dealing with James Mason."
The witness wants us to believe he has never dealt in drugs with James Mason. However,
he does not tell us that. He only states he does not "recall" dealing with James Mason. Perhaps
if the prosecuting attorney refreshed his memory he may give a different answer.
"I have tried my best to avoid trouble."
The word "tried" tells us this witness wasn't very good at avoiding trouble. The word "tried"
means attempted or failed. Even though he gave it his best, he still got in trouble.
"I didn't really talk to them about any drugs."
The witness denies talking to them about drugs. However, he adds emphasis to his denial
by including the word "really" which is one of the words that indicates untruthfulness.
This is similar to saying that he didn't "truthfully" talk to them about drugs. We see the
same use of the word "really" when another defendant was asked if he had ever robbed a bank.
"I've never really done those type of things."
Q. "Did you sell drugs to Bradshaw?"
A. "Bradshaw? No, no."
The witness answered the question with a question. This means he is thinking about how he
should answer the question. He gave a good answer with "no." However, his hesitation in answering
is reason to suspect he did sell Bradshaw drugs.
Q. "How often did you use cocaine with Bobby Bryant?"
A. "I can't say."
Q. "Was it more than once?"
A. "Yes."
Q. "Was it more than five times?"
A. "I can't say."
The witness wants us to think he does not remember how many times he used cocaine with Bryant.
However, that is not what he is saying. Instead he is refusing to tell us. He is probably thinking
"I can't say or I will be in trouble."
Q. "Who was the source of the cocaine you were using?"
A. "Who was the source?"
Q. "Who provided it?"
A. "Well sometimes it was already there when I arrived"
The witness answered the question with a question which means he is stalling to think about how
he should answer the question. The word "sometimes" tells us that at other times the cocaine arrived
after he was there. Therefore, he should know who delivered the stuff on those occasions.
"I've told them everything I know. There is not much more that I can do."
"I've told them everything I know" is a very strong statement that the person has
disclosed all information. This would lead one to think that the person has fully cooperated.
However, in the second statement the witness tells us that while there may not be "much more"
there is a little more that he could do.
Q. "Have you answered all of my questions truthfully?"
A. "I believe so."
The best answer to this question is "yes." "I believe so" leaves room for the possibility that
he did not answer all of the questions truthfully.
