Jury Duty: The Trial of Robert Durst

Dick DeGuerin continues his opening statement to the jury on behalf of Robert Durst by reprising his assertion from the trial in Texas that Durst killed Morris Black in self-defense and then - in a panic - dismembered Black's body. DeGuerin then tries to counter the prosecution's presentation of Durst's own incriminating interviews with the filmmaker's of The Jinx and with Deputy DA John Lewin by positing that Durst was manipulated into making these ill-advised statements.

In the penultimate episode of Season 1, David Chesnoff takes over the defense team's opening statement and establishes his mantra for the day: "No evidence is evidence." By this he suggests that the jurors should lean into their desire for forensic evidence in assessing Robert Durst's culpability, and if they find such evidence lacking, they should consider that to be evidence in and of itself. Chesnoff then tries to pick apart portions of the prosecution's narrative of what happened to Kathie Durst and Susan Berman. He suggests to the jurors that there is an absence of forensic evidence to prove the case against Robert Durst beyond a reasonable doubt.

As David Chesnoff concludes the defense team's opening statement, it becomes clear that the jury will have to choose between two ways of interpreting evidence: Will they be guided by Chesnoff's mantra that "no evidence is evidence" deciding that the lack of CSI-type forensic evidence leaves them with reasonable doubt of Durst's guilt, or will they follow Lewin's OK Boomer Method deciding that the mess of circumstantial evidence surrounding Durst's actions and statements and the statements of others leaves only one reasonable explanation: that Robert Durst killed Susan Berman. And then, after two days of testimony the LA courts were shut down due to COVID-19 and the trial was suspended until next Spring. The episode concludes with a taste of the testimony that lies ahead in Season Two, and with an update on our plans to cover these proceedings in the coming months.