Cutting the Haidl defense off at the knees

STEVE SMITH

According to the current issue of Newsweek, there is hope for those

of us who consistently exhibit signs of distractibility, poor impulse

control and emotional sensitivity. (Anyone who exhibits those traits

will say something such as, “You hurt me deeply when you say that I

don’t think before I act. Want to play tennis?”)

Such characteristics are a summary of those exhibited by people

with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or the now famous

ADHD.

The Newsweek article is called “The Gift of ADHD?” According to

the story, there are two new books, which claim that people with ADHD

may actually have counter-traits that are positives, including

creativity, energy and intuition.

“A huge proportion of criminals have ADHD,” author Edward

Hallowell is quoted as saying, “So do a lot of successful artists and

CEOs.”

How Hallowell can determine the difference these days between the

criminals and CEOs is a mystery to me, but that’s another column.

“We make great entrepreneurs,” says executive and ADHD sufferer

Sam Grossman in the story, “because we think outside the box. We

can’t help it.”

The point here, coming from someone who self-diagnosed himself

years ago as suffering from some form of attention deficit, is that

the applications of its benefits have far-reaching effects, including

some on local issues.

I thought about my “gift” as I read the Haidl 3’s defense team

attempt to paint the alleged victim, called Jane Doe in the trial, as

someone who has lied before and is therefore likely to be lying about

the events the night she claims the three boys raped her.

And thanks to Jane’s former “friends,” the lying, promiscuous,

anything-goes, party girl portrait is being supported.

What I don’t understand and why, probably, I would have made a

lousy attorney, is why the prosecution has not taken a different

approach to the reputation-bashing campaign waged by the defense.

Look at it this way: The defense tried to trash Doe in the first

trial. The prosecution knew it was coming in the second trial. But

instead of thinking outside the box, the way any smart ADHD sufferer

would have, they chose instead to tee up the case for the defense.

It reminds me of that old definition of insanity -- that is,

trying the same thing over and over but hoping for a different

result.

Instead of trying to make jurors believe that this girl was not

the tramp the defense is making her out to be -- a losing battle --

they should have conceded the point and moved on. Cut ‘em off at the

knees.

“Yeah, she made some very bad decisions prior to that night, and

even right up to the alleged crime,” they could have said. “She was

drinking, she was having unprotected sex with multiple partners and

who knows what else.”

One of them could even have added, just for effect, “Man, I’m sure

glad she’s not my kid!”

That sets up the jury. Then, you lower the boom with this: “The

prosecution concedes all of her bad behavior. In fact, we’re so

convinced that she did all that other stuff that had she not done it,

you jurors would now be home watching Dan Rather ride off into the

sunset instead of listening to the tales of four kids who have thrown

away their lives.

The fact is, her past behavior was just the permission these boys

felt they needed to have to have their way with her. After all, who

on earth is going to believe her story when she wakes up?”

But instead, we got prosecution template number 27B -- the one you

use when the plaintiff’s reputation is attacked.

By the way, in an effort to add some credibility to my theory, I

called two attorneys and asked for their opinions. The first attorney

is a fairly visible one who, upon discovering this was about the

Haidl case, said, “I don’t want to comment on that case.” The second

one did not return my call before my deadline.

These boys are not guilty of anything until a verdict is returned.

And if the verdict comes back “guilty,” you’ll understand why I did

not pursue a law career when I had the chance.

But if the boys get off the hook, I’ll always wonder what an

outside-the-box, ADHD-charged prosecuting team could have done

differently.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to onthetown [email protected].