The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-09-05
A TRUTH.
How the Poor Witness Fares on the
Stand.
Cairo Bulletin.)

How the Poor Witness Fares on the
Stand
Cairo Bulletin.)
The manner in which attorneys ques-
Hon witnesses is exasperating to the in
telligent listener beyond expression. The
great purpose of the average criminal
lawyer, for instance, is to draw from the
witness all the facts in his possession, ex-
eept the facts that touch the case under
consideration.
A countryman, chopping down tree,
stops his work, and buries his axe up to
The eye in the brain Of the brother -in-law
The witness who saw the whole bloody
transaction is brought into court, and his
examination runs about thus;
"You say that the prisoner was chop
ping tree down. Now, will you please
he'll the court and jury where he bought
she axe?"
"You don't know; very well, sir; we'll
rec about that"
90 "Now sir, look at the jury--don't stare
b that helpless manner at me-now sir,
do you say upon your oath, that the de-
Eendant stole that axe before he left Padu-
eah?"
"You do say So eh9 Well, now mark
me, sir. How many feet was it from the
tree the defendant was chopping to the
nearest grist mill? You can't say"
"Was it 10 feet?"
"Certainly good deal more"
swell, then, was it thousand miles"
SOh, certainly not"
"The court and the jury will please OBJ
serve the stubbornness of this witness. 1t
Is manifestly his purpose to keep from the
Jury the facts they ought to know"
"Now, sir, who owned the mill?"
The witness nnocently inquiries" What
mil?" but soon repents it.
The Jury will please observe the exas-
carating contumaciousness Of this witness
his ovation and his manifest purpose to
confuse your minds to the facts involved
10 this terrible murder"
"Now, sir, look me in the face. You
Aave solemnlv sworn that the man was
ehopping near mill. Well you now
dare say--look at the jury, sir-that there
was no mill within 900 miles OF the tree
the defendent was falinga
Il don't say anything OF the kind"
sThe Jury will please note that answer" ="
snow see here nv friend-weve had
sbout enough of this. You first de-
+efared that there was no mill, and now
YOU brazenlv avow there was mill near
the wood chopper"
al said there was no mill within 40
fee"
aNever do YOU mind what you said-l
know what you said, and the jury knows
and now, sir listen to me-"
~Who made your boots"
"Y on don't know? Is there anything
ander Gods heavens that you do know
There, ,here Look at the jury-not al
me. And now, perhaps, you can tell the
Jury what your name Is ("
The witness tells his name.
"Now, sir--look at the jury-how long
did you live there?"
The witness timidly asks, "Livec
where?' when the attorney springs to his
feet:
"May it please the Court and Jury,
find this witness utterly incorrigible, stub
born, muish and bent upon keeping bach
the verv facts the jury must have. III
has clearly been tampered with and come
here with the manifest intention of brow
beating and worrying both the jury ant
the bar. have tempcfized with him,
have led him gently from point to point il
the hope OF beg-uiling him into true re
eital of the facts connected with thi
dreadeu III murder, and what is my reward
eor this considerate kindness and forbear
ance Speaking under the sanctity OF al
oath. he tells the Court and Jury that h
doesn't know where he lives, and ha
asked me TO tell him Great Cod! ca
such things be, and not overcome US lik
a-ILe-and not overcome US? l ash
your Honor, that this witness be sent t
nail for contumacv, to remain there unit
he expresses a Willingness to tell what h
knows about this dreadful murder"
The Court then admonisheS the witnes
that further trihing will not be permitted
that he must answer the gentleman
questions, or he'll certainly feel called uT
on to commit him to prison.
The witness by this time is bewildere'
scared, dazed and INDUCES in contradl'
tons and absurdities as fast and as oite
as the attorney requires MN w. al
finally, leaving the stand, it is quarter
m hour at least before he can reca!! n
own name or fix his own identity. IL
attorney then gets upon his feet, tears Il
wretched witness contradictory and foe
ish rignarole all to tatters, and asks Il
Court that it be excluded from the jury
false and nonsensical.
And that is one Of the ways many
our average criminal lawyers adopt
draw Out the facts" in great murder cast
After man, upon some raw ana gus
night when everything is as dark as
shadow of fate, has run across swayi
clothcs.line with his chin and neck, y
never can convince him there is any tr'
in all this nonsense about death by ha'
-. eo ,,Iaaeanf Il burlington Hav