Barry Scheck: How would you describe yourself in three words? — FLAPSS

The question

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this exact standing prompt.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Barry Scheck

Defence lawyer; co-founder of the Innocence Project

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Most people think I'm mean, vicious and horrible. That's only because they see me cross-examining witnesses on television. In reality I'm known in legal circles as a big marshmallow.

The Irish Times, The Irish Times, 24 June 1998 source ↗

Others on this question

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Rosalind Eleazar

Analytical, extreme and playful.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 February 2025 source ↗

Henry R. Kravis Financier; co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

it’s that grit, that determination, that fortitude, that gets you through what you set out to do.

Recorded John Erling, Voices of Oklahoma, 6 September 2019 source ↗

Lovely but useless.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 October 2024 source ↗

Scrappy, quixotic, curious.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 January 2026 source ↗

More from Barry Scheck

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Question What do you value most in your friends? Relationships

I haven't met one of these exonerated individuals who can sleep. Virtually all of them have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recorded Frontline, PBS, 4 December 2002 source ↗

Question Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought? Money & investment

I haven't met one of these exonerated individuals who can sleep. Virtually all of them have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recorded Frontline, PBS, 4 December 2002 source ↗

Question What is the most rewarding part of being a parent? Relationships

I haven't met one of these exonerated individuals who can sleep. Virtually all of them have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recorded Frontline, PBS, 4 December 2002 source ↗

Question What important truth do very few people agree with you on? Values & belief

Mistaken identification is the single greatest cause of the conviction of the innocent.

Recorded Frontline, PBS, 30 October 2001 source ↗

Question Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? Identity & self

I haven't met one of these exonerated individuals who can sleep. Virtually all of them have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recorded Frontline, PBS, 4 December 2002 source ↗

Question What is your greatest fear? Identity & self

I haven't met one of these exonerated individuals who can sleep. Virtually all of them have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recorded Frontline, PBS, 4 December 2002 source ↗

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