Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1891-02-20
LAWYERS EMERGENCIES
Some Instances When They Have
to Be Quick-Witted.

Some Instances When They Have
to Be Quick-Witted.
Although the processes of law are
proverbially slow, there are many occa-
sions when lawyers must act with
promptness where a lack of p-omptitude
or knowledge Of the law may result dis
astrously to the interests of their
clients. This is notably the case in the
drawing Of wills. 1t often happens that
a lawyer is reused out of bed late at
night to go to the bedside of n dying
person and perfect will, disposing of
large amounts of property. To do this
with expedition, complying with all the
requisite forms while death is literally
waiting at the door, is u task that re-
Guires a man of cool head and self-pos-
session. Surroga.es' courts bear testi-
| mony to the frequency with which the
wishes of tcstators have failed to be
carried out because of the failure to
comply with some almost trifling detail.
In one case the lawyer was so slow in
making out the paper that the tcstator
died before the requisite formalities
were complied with. In another case n
quiclS-witted lawyer, who saw that
there was not time to complete will in
case where the property consisted of
money in bank, adopted the expedient
of making out checks for the heirs,
which were duly signed and acknowl-
edged, and the heirs got their money
the next day, without being obliged to
wait year for executors.
! In commercial crises lawyers have to
do 4 good deal OF quick work in putting
/ business affairs in shape to meet an
emergency The bankrupt generally
desires to save parts OF the wreck for
this or that creditor, or for relatives, or
for himself, and the papers must be
drawn in due form to cludc the Wig
lance of the unfortunate creditors who
get left. Bankruptcy has become a
! special branch of law, and there are
some lawyers who have become very
expert at it, SO that upon short notice
and with brief time in which to work
they can arrange the affairs of bank
rupt firm SO as TO dispose of the assets
according to the wishes of their clients.
There is room and need for quick wit
in the actual trial of cases in court. 1t
is one thing to prepare case with care
full consideration of the facts and due
application of the law to those facts.
1t is quite another thing to be able to
handle q case in open court under the
spur of competition with sharp oppos-
ing counsel or a testy court. In every
large law firm the work is divided like
that in a factory, and to each is as
signed particular part of the case.
The one who tries il must be man of
rapid Judgment and resources. He must
be able to meet surprises, to discern
men, to divine hidden motives, to snap
at the prejudices of jurors or Judges
and to seize the advantages of the mo-
ment. There is no end of need for
quick wit in questions of identity. In
an extradition case, which depended
entirely upon identity, the defendant
had been fully identified. The defend
ants counsel slyly got his client to
change his coat in court with another
man of similar appearance, and within
a few minutes the witness was led
easily to identify the wrong man.
A quick-witted and daring Western
lawyer once saved a guilty client from
sure conviction on charge of poison
ing. 1t was proved that the poisoning
had been done by means of certain
cakes, portion of which was produced
in court. When the counsel for the
prisoner had finished his speech he said:
"And these, gentlemen of the jury,
are some of the alleged poisoned cakes.
We declare to You, gentlemen of the
jury, that these are not poisoned cakes.
They are as harmless cakes as ever were
made, and in order, gentlemen of the
jury. to show you that these cakes are
not poisoned, 1 will eat one of them
right here in your presence.
And he did eat one. He took good
care, however, to leave the room at the
earliest opportunity and to make a bee
line for an adjoining room, where he
had an emetic in readiness and an anti
dote. But the jury never heard about
the emetic or the antidote until the law
yer's client had been acquitted.
On another occasion n witness had
been detailing with great minuteness
certain conversations which had oc-
CURED several years before Again and
again the witness testified to names and
dates, and precise words, and it became
necessary for his cross-examiner to
break him up. This was done BY a very
simple device. While the witness was
glibly rafting off his testimony the
cross-cxaminer handed him q law book
and said:
Read aloud a paragraph from that
book
''What for?" inquired the witness.
81 will tell you after you have read
it." said the lawyer, and the witness ac-
cordingly read aloud 4 paragraph of
most uninteresting matter about lands.
appurtenances, and hereditaments.
Then the lawyer went on and asked him
a few more questions about his memo
~, and the witness was positive that
his memory was very good. Suddenly
the lawyer said:
by the way, viii you please repeat
that paragraph you just read about
lands, appurtenances, and heredita-
ments?"
''Why, of course could not do that"
replied the witness.
You must have q queermemory," re
torted the lawyer, since you can re-
peat things that you say occurred years
ago. and you can not repeat what you
read a moment ago."
The witness was nonplused, and the
jury was obviously amused at his dis
comfiture.
A quick-witted lawyer thinks on full |
gallop. Many successful cross-examin-
ers have been men who could keep up a |
running fire of jokes and comments and |
never lose sight of the main point, who |
could lead witness along by suavity |!
and politeness and acquiescence and APP
parent obsequious Difference into pit |
falls of contradiction. Such men viii J
let . smart witness talk On until he !