THE NERD DEFENSE 755
nonprescriptive eyewear by defendants in a courtroom setting.^152
The following cases provide examples of the utilization of the
nerd defense in criminal trials.
In the infamous case of People v. Davis, a twenty-one-year-
old defendant was charged with the attempted murder of nine
police officers as they sought to arrest him.^153 During a lengthy
trial period, the prosecution used police testimony to portray
Larry Davis, the defendant, as a “gold chain-clad thug.”^154 The
defense countered by altering Davis’ appearance, giving him a
clean-cut look and a pair of horn-rimmed eyeglasses^155 to make
him “look like Mr. Peepers.”^156 In a trial that spanned seven
months, Davis was acquitted of the attempted murder of the
officers.^157
In 2011, a Bronx jury acquitted Thomas Cordero, known as
“[the] nude housekeeper,” on charges of stabbing John Conley
to death.^158 On the advice of his lawyer, Harvey Slovis, Cordero
donned eyeglasses throughout the trial.^159 Despite Cordero’s
(^152) See Marshall, supra note 18 (raising concerns about whether putting
nonprescriptive eyeglasses on a defendant with 20-20 eyesight rises to the
level of deceit prohibited by New York Legal Ethics Rule 8.4); see also
MODEL RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT R. 8.4 (2002); John Pertzborn, Chet
Pleban: Nerd Defense in the Courtroom, FOX2NOW ST. LOUIS (Apr. 2,
2012, 8:18 AM), http://fox2now.com/2012/04/02/chet-pleban-nerd-defense-
in-the-courtroom/.
(^153) People v. Davis, 537 N.Y.S.2d 430 (Sup. Ct. 1988).
(^154) Deutsch, supra note 150.
(^155) See id. (observing that at trial, Davis resembled a studious young
adult “dressed like a college student, sporting horn-rimmed glasses and
sweaters”).
(^156) Marshall, supra note 18.
(^157) See William G. Blair, Jury in Bronx Acquits Larry Davis in Shooting
of Six Police Officers, N.Y. TIMES (Nov. 21, 1988),
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/21/nyregion/jury-in-bronx-acquits-larry-
davis-in-shooting-of-six-police-officers.html.
(^158) Kevin Deutsch & Bill Hutchinson, “Nude Housekeeper” Acquitted of
Stabbing Client to Death Despite DNA Evidence, Confession, N.Y. DAILY
NEWS (Jan. 13, 2011), http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-01-
13/news/27087260_1_dna-evidence-confession-thomas-cordero.
(^159) Deutsch, supra note 150; see also Hannah Rand, The “Nerd
Defense”: How Violent Criminals Are Turning to Thick-Framed Hipster
Glasses to Persuade Juries They Are “More Intelligent, More Honest,” MAIL