Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-04-28
ANECDOTES OF JAMES T. BRADY
THE BAKER TRIAL.

The trial of Baker for the murder of
Poole furnished a notable instance of Mr..
Brady's intreDidity in behalf of a client.
1t was at the height of the" "KnOw-NOth-
ing' excitement, and Poole, afterTeceiv-
ing the fatal bullet, having exclaimed,
az die an American" =" succeeded in cauS-
ing himself to be regarded as a martyr
to the cause. Lingering for days with
as the post nlOTteD1 prOved-a bullet deep
ly imbedded in his heart, the interest
and excitement became intense; and on
the day of his funeral, twenty thousand
men walked in solemn procession be-
hind the coffin of the martyTed trough"
In such a state of public feeling Baker
opening of the charge by the judge, ,arOUs-
ed by its tenor, Mr.. Brady seized pen
and commenced writing rapidly, indig
nation showing itself in his set lips and
frOWning brow. The moment the judge
had ceased he was on his feet and began:
f'YOu have charged the jury thus and
thus. I protest against your so stating
it." The judge said he would listen to
the objections after the jury had TetiT-
ed. "NO," exclaimed the indignant or
atOr, 'I choose that the jury shall hear
those objections; and defying interfer-
ence, he poured forth impetuOusly forty
cOuching them all emphatically in words
OfpersonaI protest to the judge. The
force Of the Judges charge on that jury
was pretty affectUally broken. The in
dignatiOn of the advocate at this time
was real, not simulated, and he, at least,
of the>New York bar, dared to defy and
to denOunce injustice, even when clad
in ermine. Of such were those brave,
elder members of the legal profession,
who in former days and other lands, kept
alive the fires of civil liberty.
After two trials here he obtained a
change of venue, and the trial was trans
ferTed to Newburg. This gave rise to
another incident, which Brady was fond
of telling, especially when he wished to
disarm prejudice against the looks of
any witness or client. The trial was to
be held before Judge Charles A. Peabody
in the Supreme Court. The judge, law
yers, high sheriff, deputies, and prisoner
all went up in the cars to FishkilI. The
streets were crowded by thousands, ca
ger to see the prisoner. As they passed
to the boat to cross over to NeWbuFg, the
Judge happened to take the arm OfHigh
Sheriff Willets. Some one recognizing
the sheriff, pointed out his companion
as the accused murderer, "DOn't you see
his id blOOdthirsty facev fancying,
as Brady would say, they saw all the
lineaments of a brutal murderer in the
calm, bland features of his honor.
THE BUsTEED CASE.
Another instance Of his intrepidity be-
fore a judge, was in the Busteed case. The
Judge had threatened to convict him for
contempt. Busteed had apoIOgized, and
Brady also, with his matchless grace
and courtesy, had rendered Busteed's
apology. but the judge still said that he
should send him to prison. "YOU will,
will yOum said Brady. 81 say you will
nOtr' And, citing authority against his
power to do so, he dared him to thus
stretch his pTeTOgative. The Judge
thought best to excuse Mr.. Busteed The
fertility of his mind and its Tapidity of
action, as shown in drawing the Obiec-
tiOns i'm the Baker trial, were once illus |
trated on an occasion when, on q case
being called, Mr.. Brady answered that
his side was ready. The opposite cOun- !
sci also stated that he was ready, and |
appeared for the plaintiff. ''NO," said !
Brady, 'I am for the plaintiff; "adding, !
~ think ] must know which side I am |
on" However, he was, at last, cOnvin- |
ced that he was mistaken. So, gath |
eTing up his PAPERS, he requested his |
tes, as he saw he was for the defendants !
instead of, as he had enormously suppos- |
ed, for the plaintiffs, adding, "and, from |
my knowledge Of the merits Of the case, |
am heartily glad that / am to defend |
instead OfprOsecute"
He left the room, returned i'll twenty |
tried, and IRON the cause.
HIS FERTILITY AND QUICKNESS.
The Hon. Luther r. Marsh gives an
instance Of Mr.. Brady's fertility in an
case to which he himself had
given thorough and, as he felt, CNhauS-
tive preparation. He asked Mr. Brady
to assist him on the trial, Brady having
had no previous knowledge of the case.
"GO on and open your case fully, use all
your points without regard to me,n said
Brady. Mr.. Marsh did sO,and sat down,
what new matter Mr.. Brady
could find to say. To his astOnishmcnt L
Brady rose and presented seven new and |,
striking points.
OF his quickncss i'm the law of the case
nm instance is given where a recent de
rision adverse to his position was intro
lUcGd. Taking the book i'm his hand he ,
said it does not appear whether this .
ease has been heard i'm the Court of APP i
Deals, but when it is it will be reversed ,
for SuCh ana Such reasons; which even
.ually proved to be the exact reasons Civ
nn by the court reversing the decision.
all his wonderful brillancy n
md originality Judge DAILY states, how ]
,ver, that his greatness as lawyer lay {
N his sound Judgment in the general S
of a ease. 1t is stated that /
n no case involving constitutional qucs- {
ions have his arguments been reversed {
n the highest appellate court