Kwote o' the day

J Kaufman · **Posted:** Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:01 pm

From a federal judge, who doesn't have to worry about elections, or political correctness, on Cecilia Chang, the former St. John's University bigshot who apparently killed herself during her trial:

Quote:

At the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning, a prosecutor told the judge presiding over Dr. Chang’s trial that a body had been found inside her home. But the judge, Sterling Johnson Jr., said he would keep the jury in place until he received official confirmation that Dr. Chang was dead.

But Judge Johnson did speak briefly of Dr. Chang’s apparent suicide saying: “That could be one of the reasons that she wanted to testify. Sayonara. Get it off her chest. We never know how an individual handles the pressure. She admitted everything on the stand.”

[Times]

J Kaufman · **Posted:** Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:51 am

Update: On second thought, says the Times, the good judge was only trying to grant us the gift of laughter at a troubled time. Bonuses: A literary-reference throwaway. And a euphemism!

Quote:

Separately, Judge Johnson, known for filling his sixth floor courtroom with levity, did not scale back when the news turned grim.

“Sayonara,” Judge Johnson said, adding that Dr. Chang had gotten everything off her chest in the previous day’s testimony. “We never know how an individual handles the pressure.” He called the turn of events a “Shakespearean tragedy.”
***
The judge did not immediately inform the jurors of what happened, keeping them in a separate room until the death was confirmed. In private, he told them, “Dr. Chang is no longer with us,” according to several jurors who were present at the conversation.

From the News [and its incomprehensibly unnavigable ripoff of the UK Daily Mail's site]:

Quote:

She gave herself the death penalty.

From the Post:

Testy Copy Editors

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