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It could not have been easy for Bernhard Goetz, left--dubbed the "subway gunman" by New York City tabloids--to hear himself referred to in a courtroom as "a nerd, a geek, a peckerwood and a cracker." The author of these epithets: Goetz's own lawyer, Darnay Hoffman, right, pursuing the tactic of insulting one's client before the opposition can. It didn't work: a jury found Goetz liable to the tune of $43 million in the civil lawsuit growing out of his gunning down of four menacing panhandlers in 1984. Other examples of "Don't say that about my client--I'll say that about my client!":
"She spent money. No question about that...She is a world-class spender. She is a world-class shopper." --Gerry Spence, successfully defending his client Imelda Marcos in her 1990 trial on racketeering and fraud charges
"I don't believe Ms. Helmsley is charged in the indictment with being a tough bitch." --Gerald Feffer, unsuccessfully defending hotelier Leona Helmsley in her 1989 tax-evasion trial
"The evidence will show Mr. Davis is guilty. I won't be asking you to acquit Mr. Davis; I won't be asking for any kind of reduced charges. I won't be offering excuses." --Barry Collins, in the continuing trial of Richard Allen Davis in the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas HEALTH REPORT
THE GOOD NEWS
--A simple breath test--mostly blowing air into a bag--can allow patients to know if their ULCER is caused by the bacterium H. pylori. Breath that contains a chemical metabolized by H. pylori signals a positive result. The treatment: antibiotics.
--A new method of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has pinpointed exactly where tiny TUMORS OF THE BREAST'S MILK DUCT are located in 95% of the women studied. Using mri, doctors can with greater confidence treat malignancies by removing a small amount of tissue in a lumpectomy, rather than performing a more invasive mastectomy.
--The ELDERLY ENJOY SEX. A Swedish survey of married folks age 85 finds that 22% of men and 10% of women report having sex.
THE BAD NEWS
--Make mine rare! People who chow down on meat that's cooked medium to well done appear more likely to develop STOMACH CANCER than those who favor rarer flesh. Reason: carcinogenic chemicals can form when animal protein is heated to high temperatures for long periods of time.
--PREGNANT WOMEN should avoid tobacco smoke--their own and other people's. The fumes can pass toxic compounds to the fetus, which may ultimately trigger childhood leukemia or other cancers.
--Researchers find that 95% of kids who develop ALLERGIES TO NUTS--a potentially life-threatening problem--suffer from asthma, eczema or hay fever. They warn children with any of these problems to lay off peanut butter and other nutty foods.
Sources--GOOD NEWS: American Journal of Gastroenterology; American College of Radiology National Conference on Breast Cancer; New England Journal of Medicine BAD NEWS: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research; Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research; British Medical Journal COMING ATTRACTIONS