While the defense spent much of the day lining up hypothetical situations that would point to an elderly woman of clear mind, the prosecution spent the afternoon knocking many of them down.
The prosecution continues its rebuttal on Monday.
The murder was premeditated, psychologists had certified that Van der Graaf was of sound mind, and the prosecution presented the assassination as an attack on democracy itself.
As the defense, it need not prove that to win; it must only raise doubts in the judges' minds about the prosecution's case.
And it permitted Mr. Baez, Ms. Anthony's lawyer, to create a reasonable doubt in jurors' minds — despite the prosecution's relentless portrayal of her as a callous liar who sought to kill Caylee so she could lead a carefree life of boyfriends and bars.
(A legislative fix helped her avoid prosecution).Guilty mind?
Some defense lawyers say the law was written with international groups like Al Qaeda in mind and that the prosecution overreached in applying it to Mr. Muhammad.
The fate of Marko Pasha, his satirical weekly, calls to mind the almost 2,000 prosecutions by President Erdoğan's of those who have dared to mock him.
His strategy back then, concocted with avoiding prosecution on his mind, made him appear hapless and as guilty as if he had confessed.
What was at the top of my mind was concern about secret prosecutions.
"The cost to the nation incurred by benefit fraud should be at the forefront of lawyers' minds when considering whether a prosecution is in the public interest.
