By David J. Krajicek

(Continued)

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In a brilliant show-and-tell gambit, defense attorneys Steve Farese and Leslie Ballin entered the wig and shoes into evidence. During her testimony, Winkler abashedly held up the objects for jurors to see, gripping one of the white platform shoes by its eight-inch stiletto heel.

But one legal expert told the Crime Library that the trial's most important moments came even before testimony had begun. 

            "This trial shows once again that the most important part of any trial is the jury selection," Michael Mendelson, a longtime New York criminal defense attorney, told the Crime Library. "The OJ Simpson case proved that, and this case proved it again. If you get the right jury, you win. If you don't get the right jury, you lose."

 

            Farese and Ballin managed to seat a jury that was overwhelmingly female. During three days of jury selection, the attorneys closely questioned potential jurors about spousal abuse. Among their queries:

• "Can emotional abuse be as damaging as physical abuse?"
• "Have you ever talked to someone who didn't listen?"
• "Have you ever wondered why someone would stay in an abusive relationship?"

Immediately after the homicide, Mrs. Winkler's attorneys began molding her as an empathetic figure overwhelmed by years of abuse at the hands of Matthew Winkler.

"This was a southern jury filled with southern women," Mendelson said. "Even today, some southern women are born into a heritage of deference to their husbands. You might have had 10 women sitting on that jury who have experienced the same sort of thing, and here they are judging one woman who had the balls to do something about her situation. They may have been saying, 'Aha, it's get-even time.'"

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By, David J. Krajicek