70. Interview with Samuel Silverstein: Part 3
11 July 2011
– I found my little loopholes in Bishop’s case.
– “A serial killer’s eye for detail” is how my mentor used to describe me. Turned out one of Bishop’s renditions of his confession—the one where he said they stole the bodies—coupled with the medical examiner’s autopsy report were the break we needed.
– M.E.’s testimony that the bodies were dead weeks before the fire threw a huge hole in the case, the D.A. wasn’t expecting that. No motive. No ID. No evidence to show where they had actually been killed.
– In cases like this, the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” is a defense attorney’s best friend. His lover. His bitch.
– Honestly, I think I could have gotten Bishop off with nothing but probation, if he had just kept his damn mouth shut. But I figured two years prison time with two dropped first degree murder charges was enough to catapult my resume to the forefront of Morton & Stanley’s stack.
– I’d been scouted by them for a while by then. The partners had sent numerous representatives down for every one of my trials for about a year.
– But I hadn’t had any real challenges in that time. A few robbery cases, couple of rape defenses. A perfect record throughout, but nothing that’d make somebody charter a plane on my behalf. Nothing that would have anybody saying “we’ve got to have this guy.” Until I get the call that this Bishop kid has no lawyer. Murder-arson.
– It was like a godsend.
– No matter to me. Honestly, I don’t give a damn if Bishop set that fire and murdered those people.
– But, honestly, if he did, I’m damn glad it worked out the way it did. [Mr. Silverstein glances out the window] Manhattan is absolutely lovely this time of year.
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