The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-01
MY FIRST LAW SUIT.
EY j. 3. B.

no haaa as without means to employ counsel.
" was SO well known by everybody there,
that from the day, twelve months before,
on which I had been admitted to practice,
7 had never been blessed with the posses
sion of a client, that subdued ripple OF
laughter swept through the courtroom at
the contemplation Of the blank and
astounded expression which l knew my
face must have worn q. being thus sud-
denly called upon to defend somebody.
But the thought struck me, as [ looked at
the pleasant face of the judge, that he had
meant kindly in giving me this opportunity
to assert myself; and although the circum-
stances under which | was to make my
debut were unfavorable to my chances of
success, I worked my way to the judges
seat, and thanked him in a low tone for his
favor.
The unfortunate prisoner in the box had
observed the manner in which the judges
appointment Of me had been received.
am quite sure that he augured unfavora-
bly, as to the result of the coming trial
from the subdued laughter Of my friends
and acquaintance; for he stared at me
with doubtful and forlorn expression, as
if believing that could be of little use to
him in his awful extremity.
How this man thus came before the
court on trial for his life will Low OK
plain.
He, the accused, Jacob Fem by name,)
had been arrested few weeks previously
on q charge of murder. One Martin Day, q
struggling pcdler, had been found at the
bridge Just north of the village with his
!, a l. nd oil
Fem, who was laborer, dwelt near by, IN
small cottage, alone. He had no family, and
was, for some reason, very reserved IN his
dcmcanor always-so much so as to have
earned the suspicious dislike Of everybody
from the time when he first appeared in
the village. On the discovery OF Days
body-which was made early in the morn
ing, and the body was yet warm,-Fcnn
was Immediately suspected Of the crime.
His house was not more than hundred
yards from the spot, off the road little
way, and on entering his premises he was
found sitting before the fire examining a
roll of silk and one or two boxes OF
such small wares as pedlers usually
carry in their packs. He was lmmedl-
ately charged with the commission Of the
crime, and arrested. 1t was observed that
when the parties who made the arrest first
entered, he exhibited 10 apprehension,
but only looked UP with surprised and
perhaps not pleased eXpreSsion but when
Informed of the discovery of the pedler's
body he turned pale and trembled vlo
lently, moaning that "he was lost, but not
guilty" AN examination Of the goods
found in Fenns possession resulted in the
Il nfc nf
them-blood which was barely dry. On
these traces Of the crime being pointed
out to him, the accused man again pro-
tested his innocence, and declared that
he had been examining the spots of blood
at the moment of his being disturbed.
His explanation Of the manner in which
he had become possessed Of the articles in
question was simple enough. About three
hours before, while standing at his
door, looking out, a mana stranger to
him, and with nothing suspicious about
him-had come up to him from the dircc-
ton of the road, and saying that he was
sorely in need of money, had requested
him to purchase the silk and the other
goods. He asked a small price for them,
and in consideration Of this, Fem had
been induced to buy them. 1t was only
when examining his purchase afterwards
at the time Of his arreSt-that he had per-
ceived the blood stains. His suspicious
that it all was not right had been aroused,
and he had Just resolved that he would
make the matter known that day, when
the arresting party came in and took him
into custody.
These were the facts Of the case, and
Ia, or NJ IA
at the bar with the ill-will and the suspi-
cions of all men directed against him.
These suspicious had almost resolved
themselves into certainly Of the prisoners
guilt, in view Of the fact that the stranger
mentionedsby Fem had never been found
or even traced; and with this powerful
chain Of circumstantial evidence against
him, he was brought to face the chance
Of that verdict which public opinion had
already foreshadowed-guilty Of murder
in the first degree.
I never knew case of man tried for
his life in which the theory Of the proba-
| bilitics bore so heavily against the accused
as in the case of my unanticipated and
unexpected client. l had no time to pre-
pare defence, even if defence had been
there to prepare. With not single wit
ness, not spark of sympathy appealing
for him in the heart of any man, woman,
or child, in the community with the pre-
JUDGES Of all aroused against him, Jacob
Fem was clearly case for the gallows {;
that even before the trial menwere specu-
lating upon the solemn spectacle of his
execution in the yard of the county Jail.
But as it was my first case, and as the tide
ran so strongly against my unfortunate
client, | was spurred to renewed exertions
| in the effort to save him.
At the trial The courtroom was crowd
ed. Men had come there from long dis
tances to witness the giving in the verdict.
The testimony for the prosecution was
straightforward and to the point. Preju-
dice aside, the conclusion seemed almost
inevitable. That Jacob Fem was guilty
was the sentence which came inyoluntarily
to the lips Of all.
When arose to plead in the prisoners
defence I was, | confess, almost without
purpose. I turned my eyes from the de-
iected prisoner to the lstless jury, and
from them to the unfriendly faces that
stared at me. The judge bent his en-
couragiDg gaze upon me, and nodded his
head as faced him in my Introductory re-
marks.
l commenced with few platitudes, SO
common in appeals in criminal cases, and
when my first sentence was completed
I paused for moment, thinking what
could be said in behalf of my client. AT
that moment one Of the attendants of the