After spending considerable time and enthusiasm in their opening statement blaming the entire criminal case of former Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce on his ex-fiancee, defense attorneys did not take nearly as aggressive an approach during the woman's cross-examination yesterday.

Shelane Beuhler, who dated Mr. Joyce for five years and lived with him nearly all of that time, spent most of yesterday on the witness stand.

She testified that the retired judge continued to golf and scuba dive and travel after an Aug. 10, 2001, fender bender, for which he received $440,000 in insurance payments.

The U.S. attorney's office has charged Mr. Joyce with two counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering, alleging that the man lied in submitting the insurance claims.

During his opening statement on Wednesday, defense attorney Philip Friedman called Ms. Buehler "a vicious, jilted woman," who led law enforcement on a "witch hunt."

But during his cross-examination of the woman yesterday, defense attorney Robert R. Leight did not elicit any of that type of venom.

Ms. Buehler admitted that she used pliers to crush the gold band of the engagement ring Mr. Joyce had bought for her before she returned it to him.

But she continued, "I was forced to give it back or he wouldn't sign over the deed to my house."

On direct examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Trabold, Ms. Buehler said that the FBI approached her first regarding Mr. Joyce.

But on cross-examination, Ms. Buehler admitted that she sent an anonymous letter to the state Judicial Conduct Board that was copied to a number of newspapers, the Erie County district attorney and state attorney general's office. In it she complained about the insurance payouts Mr. Joyce received, along with other issues.

She did not elaborate on those other issues.

A huge part of the case appears to hinge on whether Mr. Joyce was actually injured in the 2001 crash. The defense claims that the accident reaggravated a neck injury he suffered in 1991.

Mr. Leight rattled off a list of more than two dozen doctor's appointments, physical therapy sessions and tests that Mr. Joyce had in the weeks and months following the 2001 accident.

But Ms. Buehler said she wasn't aware of any of them, even though the couple was living together at the time.

She did testify that Mr. Joyce often complained of various medical problems, believing at times that he had Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease and a couple of heart attacks.

Mr. Joyce's first wife, Cynthia Joyce, also testified that her ex-husband left her and their two sons in 1987 because he believed that he was dying and needed to go stay with his mother.

Earlier that year, while the couple was vacationing in Mexico, Mr. Joyce saw "floaters" in his eyes while he was out in the sun and believed that he had a brain tumor.

Ms. Joyce said that was not the case.