"Her Freedom Was The Price Of Her Testimony" — Defense Attorney Bob Motta On Cross-Examining Juliana

Juliana Peres Magalhaes is the only reason the prosecution has a case against Brendan Banfield. She's also a woman who lied for a year, flipped when she got a deal, and wrote from jail that she was "heartbroken" for what she was doing to the man she says she helped commit murder.

Defense attorney Bob Motta joins Hidden Killers to explain how you tear apart a star witness whose credibility is already in shreds.

Juliana's sentencing is scheduled after Banfield's trial — to ensure she continues to cooperate. She pleaded to manslaughter. She gets time served. She gets deported to Brazil. Motta explains how you make a jury understand what she bought with her testimony and what it cost her to say the words prosecutors needed to hear.

The prosecution is framing Juliana as a reluctant participant who was told it was "too late to back out." Motta dismantles that narrative and explains what the defense should be highlighting instead.

Juliana maintained the home invasion story for a full year before changing it. How do you frame that for jurors? Is she a liar who finally told the truth — or a liar who upgraded to a better lie when the price was right?

Motta identifies the biggest mistakes defense attorneys make when cross-examining cooperating witnesses — and what Banfield's team needs to avoid. He explains how to weaponize the jailhouse letter and what happens to the prosecution's case if Juliana falls apart on the stand.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.