The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1883-05-24

Thu Examination Of witnesses.

There IA another equally barbsrous dis
elimination against witnesses that Is "a
greatly In need OF abatement. We refer To
the lndlgnties put upon witnesses IN court
nv examining counsel. Lawyers think II Is
one of their inalienable privileges to brow
heat witness. Some ofthem devote their
energies more to the accomplishment OF
this purpose than to the eliciting OF perth
nent information, and judges do not often
interfere 70 prevent unless appealed to by
the baited witness. Witnesses are the vital
properties of law. without then theIe
would be no such thing as justice, no such
,ning az the enforcem.n mt of the statutes.
Thev are entitled TO the protection oil
the court they serve, for whether
Witness be for or against The state,
the presumption is that he is servant OF
iustice, and the law is higher than the state.
There are some methods OF procedurei In
the examination of witness that must be
unpleasant TO the witness which cannot be
readily avoided, even by the most consid'
crate lawyer, since it is necessasy often to
innuire into the motives, character, and re-
Iations of witness, because some men VIII
lie even under oath. But there are reason
allie limits that should be enforced. Inc
LAWYER should be taught to know when ne
must stop short in his personallsms, ana
where he must moderate his manner. BE-
canse a man or woman is at the direction
Of the court it does not necessarily follow
that he or she is at the mercy OF the law.
yars and the extreme to which this brow
heating and abuse is sonnet mes carried ID
nm only shameful but scandalous. Man
a witnese who would not mind the imy
prisonment would shrink In terror iroh-
The masked batteries of impudent ques.
tions and brazen imputations to which
thev are cruelty subjected in court. There
"a 10 man who cannot be made to appear
nv a shrewd and INSCRIPTIONS lawyer, as
bsing no better than he should be, and toa
sensitive nature there Is no ordeaf more
Distressing and painful than the torture OF a
human failing, timidity under the fire OF
question. The delight in confounding a
witness, in sneering at his Yshaken an
swars in bullying his doubts, In rldicuiing
his integrity, and if he dare appeal to the
court for protect on against outrageous
abuse, his plea is jumped on as the cry OF
guilty conscience pushed to the wall.
Ali this is infamous, and does as much
to defeat the ends of justice as the system
of imprisonment. Witnesses flee from 1t.
Good will is destroyed by it. Men who go
On the stand firm in the resolution to tell
the truth and the whole truth, often be-
come logged and sullen and perverse under
the nagging OF counseii a1u maLy
vi.tuous witnesses have left the
court.room overwhelmed with the shame
FIJI consciousness that they have
been exposed before the World as as
A witness is entitled to both courtesy and
consideration unless there is apparent evil
dence to impugn his motives or call into
nnestiou his integrity. The man who can
not distinguish between the two classes is
quite unfit to be lawyer; the lawyer who
can mark the distinction and declines TO 40
so is unworthy to practlce IN reputapie
courts.-[Chicago Inter-Ocean.