The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1878-11-27
Choate Before a Jury.


Choate, the eloquent Massachusetts,
lawyer, controlled the minds Of a
jury, is depicted by E. T. Whipple,
who says, in Harper's lagaEine;
In jury trials his main object was
to influence the wills of the twelve
men before him. He addressed their
understandings; he fascinated their
imaginations; he stirred their feel
ings; but, after all, he used all his
powers in subordination Of that one
primal power which dwelt in his
magnetic individuality, by which he
subdued them, bringing on that part
of their being which uttered its re-
luctant Eyes" or mo-" the pressure
of stronger nature as well as of a
larger mind. AS an advocate, he
thoroughly understood that men in
the aggregate are not reasonable be-
ings, but men with the capacity OF
being occasionally made reasonable,
if their prejudices are once blown
away by a superior force of blended
reason and emotion-in other words,
by force of being His triumphs at
the bar were due TO the fact that he
was powerful man, victorious over
other men because he had n stronger
manhood, a stronger selfhood, than
any body on the jury he addressed.
On one occasion ! happened to be a
witness in a case where q trader was
prosecuted for obtaining goods under
false pretenses. Mr.. Choate took the
ground that the seeming knayery of
the accused was due to the circum'
stance that he had a deficient bus
mess intelligence-in short, that he
had unconsciously rated all his geese
as swans. lie was right in his view.
The foreman of the jury, however,
was a hard-headed practical man,
model of business intellect aud in
tegrity, but with an incapacity of
understanding any intellect or con-
science radically differing from his
own. Mr.. Choate's argument, as far
as the facts and the law were con-
cerned, was through in an hour
Still he went on speaking, Hour
after hour passed, and yet he contin.
ued to speak with constantly increas-
ing eloquence, repeating and recapi-
tulating, without any seeming rea-
son, facts which he had already stated
and arguments which he had already
urged. The truth was, us gradually
learned, that he was engaged in a
hand.to-hand-or rather in u brain
to brain anda Observation-Disclosures
with the foreman, whose resistance he
was determined to break down, but
who confronted him for three hours
with defiance observable in every
rigid line of his honest countenance.
"You fool" was the burden of the adj.
vocato's ingenious argument; "You
rascal" was the phrase legibly print,
ed on the foreman's incredulous face.
But at last the features Of the
foreman began to relax, and at the
end the stern lines melted into &C.
quiesence with the opinion of the adj
vocate, who had been storming at
the defenses Of his mind, his heart
and his conscience for five hours, and
had now entered as victor. He com
PEELED the foremann to admit the un-
pleasant fact that there were exist
ing human beings whose mental and
moral constitution differed from his
own, and who were yet as honest in
intention as he was, but lacked his
clear perception and sound judgment
The verdict was, "Not guilty." 1t
was a just verdict, but it was merci-
lessly asSailed by merchants who had
lost money by the prisoner, and who
were bounding him down as an enc.
my to the human race, asanother in
stance of Choate's lack of mental and
moral honesty in the defense Of per.
sons accused of crime. The fact that
the foreman of the jury that return
ed the verdict belonged to the class
that most vehemently attacked
Choate was sufficient of itself to dis.
prove such allegations. AS listen.
ed to Choate's argument in this case,
felt assured that he would go on
speaking until he dropped dead on
the floor rather than have relinquish-
ed his clutch on the soul of the one
man on the jury whom he knew
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