But... Can You Prove It?

What makes evidence persuasive—and is direct evidence really stronger than circumstantial evidence?

Mike Moore and Brian Carney break down the major types of courtroom evidence, explain how individual facts can combine into a “brick wall of proof,” and discuss why prosecutors must let the evidence lead them to a conclusion—not work backward from a conclusion they have already reached.

They also share memorable stories from the courtroom, including a damaged mattress presented to a jury, a 14-foot sewer shovel that barely fit diagonally inside an elevator, and a case that demonstrates why the story told at trial must always match the evidence.

In this episode:

• Direct versus circumstantial evidence
• Real, testimonial, demonstrative, and illustrative evidence
• Why missing evidence can matter
• Avoiding assumptions and confirmation bias
• Making evidence tangible for a jury
• Building a persuasive case one fact at a time
• Why visual storytelling can change a verdict

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction and case update
00:51 — What counts as evidence?
02:53 — Four types of courtroom evidence
06:35 — Direct versus circumstantial evidence
10:25 — Is circumstantial evidence weaker?
13:03 — When the evidence changes the case
15:55 — The importance of missing evidence
17:09 — A prosecutor’s duty to reassess
21:25 — Building a brick wall of proof
23:19 — The largest evidence brought into court
27:37 — Why physical evidence feels real
31:01 — The story must match the evidence
33:12 — Learning from a hung jury
36:53 — Closing thoughts

Subscribe to But Can You Prove It? for candid conversations about evidence, persuasion, justice, and what it actually takes to prove a case.

#LegalPodcast #TrialLaw #Evidence #CourtroomStrategy #Prosecutors #CircumstantialEvidence

What happens when the government attempts to carry out a death sentence—and fails? Former prosecutors Mike Moore and Brian Carney examine the Pike case and the difficult legal, moral, and practical questions it raises. They discuss the purposes of criminal punishment, whether capital punishment deters crime, the possibility of cruel and unusual punishment, and what options remain after a botched execution. Drawing on their prosecutorial experience, Mike and Brian also consider the enormous responsibility placed on the government, the courts, and juries—and the lasting consequences for victims’ families. When an execution fails, can another attempt still be called justice?

In Episode 2 of But Can You Prove It?, Mike Moore turns the questions on co-host Brian Carney.

Brian shares the path that took him from a shy kid growing up in Canton, Massachusetts, to prosecutor, trial lawyer, teacher, entrepreneur, and founder of WIN Interactive. He talks about the unexpected influence of high school theater, his years at Stonehill College and Suffolk Law School, clerking for Massachusetts Superior Court judges, and the appellate experience that shaped the way he later tried cases.

Brian also explains how his work as a prosecutor led him to create the multimedia department at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office—and eventually to launch WIN Interactive in 2001 with a belief that remains central to his work today: lawyers need to understand their evidence visually, not just verbally.

The conversation ultimately gets to the idea at the heart of But Can You Prove It?: knowing your case is not the same thing as proving it. Whether you are prosecuting or defending a case, understanding what photographs, video, digital evidence, timelines, locations, and other evidence actually show can change both how you investigate the case and how effectively you tell its story.

It’s a conversation about becoming a trial lawyer, learning to think visually, adapting when things do not go according to plan—and why the legal profession still has a long way to go in understanding the power of visual evidence.

Former prosecutor Brian Carney and current prosecutor Mike Moore launch But Can You Prove It? with a conversation about what it really means to prove a case.

Drawing on decades of experience prosecuting cases in very different environments—from Boston’s Gang Unit to rural South Dakota and Colorado—they explore prosecutorial discretion, the responsibility prosecutors have to defendants as well as victims, and why preparation and judgment matter regardless of whether the case is a homicide or a traffic offense.

Mike also explains the case that changed the way he thought about presenting evidence: a victim whose extraordinary account initially seemed almost impossible to believe—until the physical evidence showed that she was telling the truth. That experience raised a larger question that would shape the rest of his career: How do you make sure a jury sees and understands what the evidence is actually telling them?

Brian and Mike discuss visual persuasion, the explosion of digital evidence, the fact that law schools still fail to teach lawyers about visual communication, and why trying a case in 2026 the same way lawyers tried cases in the 90's is no longer enough.

And with AI making it increasingly difficult to distinguish what is real from what merely looks real, the question behind this podcast has never mattered more:

But can you prove it?