Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990                   TAG: 9003290758
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/10   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: JAMES ROWLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

NOT TESTIFYING LIKELY TO HURT POINDEXTER

Having the former national security adviser testify would have risked destroying any doubts about the prosecutors' case planted by defense attorney Richard Beckler, Georgetown University law professor Paul Rothstein said.

Prosecutor Dan Webb would have asked, " `Did Reagan ever authorize you to lie to Congress?' Poindexter would probably have to say `No,' " Rothstein said.

"He would hit every one of those points where a seed of doubt has been laid and the last thing the jury would hear is Poindexter putting the noose around his own neck," Rothstein said.

The general rule among white-collar criminal defense lawyers is to put the defendant on the witness stand, experts say.

"Acquittals are very rare when a defendant does not take the stand," said Rothstein, who has attended Poindexter's Iran-Contra cover-up trial.

The defense rested its case on Tuesday, and final arguments are scheduled for Friday in U.S. District Court.

Beckler, asked Tuesday why he did not call Poindexter to the stand, said, "Because I don't believe the government proved its case."

Rothstein said, "When a defendant does not take the stand, the jury supposes you are covering up something," even though the judge instructs the panel not to hold the accused's silence against him.

Poindexter avoided what observers agree would have been withering cross-examination by Webb, who hammered away at former White House aide Oliver North for 3 1/2 days.

The decision probably focused on the question of "were there any facts he could clarify or bring to the table that weren't already there," said Lawrence Barcella, a prominent defense lawyer in Washington. "Or were you just going to give a very good lawyer an opportunity to cross-examine him."

Generally, the accused would be expected to testify "if you've got a case where the only person who can explain things is the defendant," Barcella said. "But here you have all kinds of people who were explaining the events."

Poindexter is accused of conspiring to obstruct congressional inquiries into the Iran-Contra affair by lying and destroying documents. He also is accused of making false statements in meetings with lawmakers and in a letter to Congress denying that North was secretly helping the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.