A lawyer had seven hours Tuesday to question Patsy Ramsey under oath about the murder of her daughter -- her first sworn testimony in the case -- and accomplished little, a Ramsey attorney said.

New York lawyer Darnay Hoffman ended Patsy Ramsey's deposition early and asked little about the morning JonBenet Ramsey was murdered, said attorney L. Lin Wood of Atlanta, whose office held the proceedings.

Hoffman did not return messages seeking comment.

Under federal rules, Hoffman had seven hours to ask "any relevant question" of Patsy Ramsey, Wood said, and "relevant" is broadly interpreted in this kind of proceeding. Hoffman is representing Chris Wolf, a former Boulder-area journalist suing the Ramseys for naming him as a murder suspect in their book, Death of Innocence.

Wood said Hoffman spent a lot of time questioning Patsy Ramsey about handwriting samples and comparing them with a handwriting report from 1997. Hoffman has said proving who wrote the note will reveal JonBenet's killer. He thinks Patsy Ramsey wrote the note.

Last week, Hoffman spoke of the deposition as the first time Patsy Ramsey would be placed under oath, and promised to "get into a lot of areas."

"All the other (interviews) were voluntary, and they set the ground rules, they can get up and leave at any time," Hoffman said Dec. 4. "Whoever was questioning them had to be very careful."

But Tuesday, according to Wood, Hoffman let Patsy Ramsey get up and leave early. Hoffman ended his questioning at 1:30 p.m., Wood said. It had begun at 9 a.m., with "two or three breaks," including an hour for lunch.

"I said, 'You've got 4 to 5 hours left under the federal rules,' " Wood said. " 'We're ready, willing and able. Ask any question you want, about any fact.' But he said, 'I think I've asked all my questions.' "

It was a far cry from the last time Patsy Ramsey was interviewed in the office, in August 2000. Wood's objections to questions posed by special prosecutor Michael Kane ignited a shouting match that almost ended with Kane walking out.

Wood said he objected to only one question: Why had the Ramseys given an interview earlier this year to a supermarket tabloid? He said he later withdrew the objection. Wood said Hoffman even withdrew several of his questions, and that Hoffman acknowledged Patsy Ramsey answered all of the others.

John Ramsey, who gave a deposition in a 1998 case that was later dismissed, will be deposed today.