eyeball witness

[Paul Frank]

Is there any semantic difference between an "eyewitness" and an
"eyeball witness," or is the difference simply one of register? I
heard someone say "eyeball witness" in the Wire, season 2, episode 4.
The term is not listed in the desk dictionaries I've consulted. In his
 Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, Bryan A.* Garner tells his readers
to avoid it.

*The A stands for anal retentive, which is a good thing for a writer
of prescriptivist style books.

Paul

Paul Frank
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