“Mr. Weissberg, my name is Linda Swain-Pettit and I represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Thank you for your time today.”
“You’re welcome,” Weissberg answered with a warm smile, not realizing it was a formality.
“You said you were certain that you heard the shout coming from the direction of the defendant’s house, isn’t that correct?”
“Yes.”
“But you also said it was a nice night, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
Linda turned to Judge Gardner. “Perhaps Your Honor would take judicial notice of the fact that it was clear and temperate at that hour of the evening, 72 degrees and low humidity. I verified this information with accuweather.com.”
“Fine, go ahead.” Judge Gardner nodded.
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Linda turned back to the witness stand. “Mr. Weissberg, do you recall whether any residents had their windows open that evening?”
“No, I don’t.”
“But you testified that people were inside watching television, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Mr. Weissberg, didn’t you know that because you saw flickering TVs?”
“Yes. You can see inside the houses, and people had TVs on.”
“So it’s certainly possible the windows were open, given the temperate weather, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I suppose so.” Weissberg blinked behind his glasses.
“And isn’t it also possible that the sound you heard was coming from a television?”
“No, I think I heard it from the driveway.” Weissberg shook his head.
Noah remained impassive, but he felt like cheering.
Linda frowned. “But you can’t be absolutely 100 percent sure that’s where the sound came from, can you?”
“I think I’m pretty sure.”
Linda shot him a look. “Mr. Weissberg, youthinkyou’reprettysure, but you were on the phone at the time, were you not?”
“Yes.”
“And if your dog is a beagle, he pulls when you walk him, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, the whole time.”
“Doesn’t he pant when you walk him, too?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Weissberg, so we’re clear, you’re walking him, he’s tugging and panting, and you’re talking with your girlfriend, isn’t that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Weissberg, what was the subject matter of the conversation?”
