The center of it is expert testimony. When a defendant's mental state is the whole question, both sides bring in psychologists, and everything those witnesses say is opinion, not fact. Hawk walks through what it takes to qualify an expert, why the phrase to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty matters, and why cross examination is where these witnesses are really tested. One clip shows a prosecution expert asked repeatedly what he was paid, and struggling to give a number, which is a moment juries tend to remember.
The sharpest sequence is the defense attorney taking a line from the prosecution's own opening statement and reading it back to one of the prosecution's own witnesses, who then undercut the prosecution's theory of motive and mental state. Hawk explains why an opening is a promise to the jury, and what it costs when that promise is not kept.
Closing arguments are expected next, after jury instructions, with deliberations to follow.
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