Los Angeles daily herald., 1884-11-20
ON THE WITNESS STAND.
a Leading Louisville Criminal
Lawyer Gives some Points.
Louisville Courier-Journal


"You can't get two witnesses to stick up to
more than one lie la their testimony" re
marked u leading criminal lawyer the other
day land for this reason no shrewd lawyer
attempts to employ perjury. They may tell
the straightforward kind of a story at first
but II there Is more than one lie In It they
will invariably weaken under a sharp cross
examination. Readywitted witnesses can
stick up to ono lie, and In this way an alibi
can often be successfully established. For in
stance, II witness was actually with the
prisoner--say at an oflice-he can transpose
the time aud stick up TO IL. Ihlt is, they
might have been together last week, and the
witness may state in his evidence that II
was Yesterday. The meeting actually oc.
Cured. and, II he Is very shrewd, you may
examine and cross examtne him as much as
possible without breaking down his testi-
inony. lie has simply traIisposed the time.
and all he has to do Is to agree with the
other witnesses upon the date they are to
swear To. But II there had never been such
u meeting one or another would be sure TO
ret caught In the lie. no matter how well
drilled he may have been. They can I
swear successfully to more than one lie at a
time In my long practice at the bar have
never known this TO fail"
1.-THE most dangerous witness that can be
put upon the stand Is Il woman. The reason
Is that II Is almost impossible for her to dis.
tinguish between what she has heard and
what she really knows or has seen. A woman
rarely testlfes in a case unless she Is interest
ed In some way, and her feelings will I'M
consciously but almost invariably influence
ier testimony. No matter how conscientious
they are their testimony Is more or less
rolored. They feel so much more acutely
Thau men that they are uuconseiously in
iuenced. When a woman is on the stand
she sticks TO her story, and in this way she
makes much better witness than man
1.-THE most reliable witness, and the best
one every way, Is a boy from Ia to IL years OF
age. He sees more than any one else, and,
as he generally has no feeling In the matter,
he tells only the truth. His mind Is perfect
ly clear, aud he may be crOssexamined as
much IN yon choose without his story being
shaken IN the least. A boy has usually
plenty of curiosity, and II fight or any
other difficulty comes up he usually stops
and listens to all that is going on. At this
rye his memory IL clearer and more reten-
tive than mans, and he has no difficulty
in separating the truth from error. better
witness, or another as good, can not be
found
"Girls and young children are dangerous
witnesses. Young girls, especially, can
easily be learned story, and they will re
neat II with parrOtlike accuracy which
,an hardly be shaken. Then a lawyer
.loesn dare to be sharp with them. as they
ave the sympathy Of a jury. Sometimes
child has learned IA story which it will tell
With such accuracy and apparent truthful
ness that 1t would seem sin to doubt 1t.
! know of n case where two little girls came
rear swearing away their brotheri n-laws
life, and It was only by an accident that
their story was proved false. The mans
wife wanted to get rid of him, and they re-
peated the tale she told them like parrots.