The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-02-07
pOLICE-BAlTING.

The practice OF nagging the poncemen
who are called as witnesses in the petty
cases that come up in the Sixth District
Court, by class of attorneys who con
slider it smart TO thus disport themselves
has developed 10 the point of nauseatior
by reason Of the failure of the Court tc
place any check on this horse-play
mell.~d of examining witnesses.
We think this police-baiting business
Is all wrong and that the Court would
have a perfect right to jump on some of
the kittenish attorneys IL it chose to do
so. The case is like this: A prisoner
is before the lower court charged with
some minor offence. A policeman,
captain, lieutenant, sergeant or patrol
men, has made the arrest and is, in many
of these minor cases, a principal il not
the only witness. He is both witness
and, in way, prosecuting officer, for
it is through or by him that the charge
has been preferred. He goes on the
witness stand 10 state the
case against the prisoner. He is
not an ordinary witness. He
is an officer of the law, who, in the dis
charge OF his duty, has brought the
prisoner into court, and he is there to
tell the court in plain and business
like way the circumstances leading 10
the arrest. His testimony, of course,
should be subject to the strongest scru-
tiny, for, although an officer Of the law,
he has human liability to mistakes
and prejudices. But, granting that, he
is still, by reason of his position as an
officer of the law and his uniform, en-
titled TO at least respectful treatment
by the attorney who is defending the
prisoner. The bullyragging of wit
ness is by no means the best evidence of
legal ability, and in case Of the police
man whose complaint must be pre-
sumed to be made simply in the line of
the duty which the city pays him to
perform, we should say that the witness
is entitled to an especial consideration
by counsel for defense. The police
man is in tbs box, presumably, for
none other than the most business-like
reasons. He is not plaintiff in the or
binary sense, whose effort is open to sus-
picion of personal interest. He is a
representative of the majesty of the
law, a man employed to see that the
laws are observed, and his complaints
are made, not in his own interest, but
in the interests of the municipality, of
the citizens at large, and of the laws
provided for their protection. AS a
witness he is subject to examination
and restraint, of course, but he at least
should have immunity from the
sassing which young attorneys are prone
to regard as a title to brilliancy in legal
practice.
The fact is. however, as we are in
formed not by the police them
selves, by the way that
to some Of the over smart at
torneys, the policeman-witness in the
Sixth District Court Is favorite mark
for the display of this sort Of smartness
on their part. II the officer in the wit
ness box is stirred to respond in kind,
the Court promptly suppresses the in
it ought to do. But the
Court takes no steps to restrain the cal
low attorneys who, with their victim
hand and foot in the witness
box, think it mighty fine fun to bait the
officer. As a matter of fact, Of course
the practice is neither dignified nor
decent, and If the Court is not disposed
TO maintain dignity and decency in the
conduct of cases that come before il, the
best thing 1t can do is to get out and let
some other lawyer sit on the bench who
has proper appreciation OF his posi-
ton.