The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-07
HE SAVED HIS CLIENT
HOW HE DUPED A MAGISTRATE AND
CHEATED JUSTICE.

percd thirty Years Ago.
! "Whcn l was reading law" said tho
judge, Il WAS the student of an oldtime
lawyer who WAS the widest old weasel
that over hung out sign. He was strong
with the jury, and he was n wonder for
shifts and schemes that often keep cases
from the 12 good men. I am reminded Of
q confidence game he successfully worked
on the courts to the prejudice of the nd
ministration of justice in Ohio. One of his
clients came into the Office ono day very
pale and shaky. He looked about him
furtivcly and in u scared way, rs lost dog
takes sight up an alley.
- am in q bad fix, said the man, and
/ want to put my affairs in shape in five
minutes and jump the town
Then he told his story. He had been in
business about n year with partner who
was not the easiest man in the world, and
they had frequent clashes, We had rcwrit-
ten their Partnership agreement two or
thrce times and had patched I'D several
fights, SO my prcceptor was not surprised
to learn they had been engaged in another
small war. This one was serious. Our
client had takcn knife and mortally cut
his business associate. The wounded man
had been taken to tho hospital by two of
the clerks in the store, and they had re-
turned with the opinions of the doctors, to
the effect that death was II matter of hours
Tho man might die in 2i hours and no
could by nothing short of miraculous aid
survive moro than As. Tho wound was in
the abdominal region. At the worst the
crime committed was murder in the second
degree and u matter of commitment for
life. Under the circumstances the offcnse
might DO regarded as manslaughtcr onl,,
and our man in that case would get but
20 years sentence. Either event meant
social death and commercial ruin where
fore the unfortunate business man prefer
rcd to toss his business chances up in tho
air and fly. What he wished to do was to
transfer his property to my prcccptor and
have the proceeds of the sale sent 10 him.
Jameson will live PA hours, will hc?
asked the lawyer. Jameson was the name
Of tho man in the hospital Morgan was
our clients name.
EYES, replied Morgan, tho physicians
said he might live two full days
Ono day is long enough, said tie old
man. One day will do for our purposes
You say no ono knows OF this nffaiy but
your two clerks
'''Thcy arc the only ones They heard
our discussion and know what my provo
cation was. They saw me stab him
&C Hero, Bill said my instructor in the
law; go down to Mr. Morgan's warehouse
md bring those two clerks here Tell cm
to lock up the place and come a-running
Then lie reached for Swan Treatise, q
valuable book for lawyers in Ohio, and
turned to the criminal forms
Il was back with the clerks in Is min
utcs, and tho old man had an affidavit
oh ,.,.@ =
assault and battery upon the person OF
Samuel Jameson. 1 took the paper over
to ncighboring justice of the peace. He
/ was man devoid Of inQuisitivcncss, plain
and matter of fact He could be relied
| upon not to ask too many questions, so
| that his fees were beyond doubt. One Of
| the clerks went with me and made oath
to the charges. The justice at once issued
n warrant, and at my request also gave me
subpoena for the other clerk rs Il wit
ness. The constable took tho warrant and
accompanied the complaining witness and
myself to our Office. Morgan was arrested,
the other clerk subpGnacd, and the entire
party with my crafty prcceptor, went
back to the Office of the magistrate. Nor
gan pleaded guilty, and the clerks were
examined as to the circumstances. They
told of the dispute and said it had tcrmi-
mated by the prisoner striking Jameson
two blows.
"Thcy told the truth, but not all of It.
I The justice, with some pcrfunctory advice
to Morgan to bride bis temper in the flu
turc, fined him $40 and costs The money
was paid, and my prcccptor then made the
only departure from the customary pro-
ccdurc. Usually when Il client is fined the
lawyer does not exhibit any mad desire to
see the fact spread on the record. This
time the lawyer, instead of leaving, asked
the magistrate to make his docket entry OF
trial and Judgment ut once. The old JUS
tice dcnurrcd mt first, but ovcrcamc his
indispoSition to labor and spread his min
utes on his Office record. He signed them
and entered satisfaction of fine and judg-
mcnt. Three hours after Morgan had
inortally wounded Jameson he had been
tried and convicted of assault and battery.
The next day Jameson died. He had
40 near relatives in the city, but the hos
| pital authorities sent out to make inquiry
| of Morgan and the two clerks rs to tho
manner in which the man had been hurt
! And they also notified the police. Morgan
| was arrested and was at once indicted by
| The grand jury, which was then in session.
| The jailS of Ohio were not bulgng with
| criminals and the court docketS We're not
| months iii arrears Morgan was charged
| with murder. His case came up for trial
| in perhaps ten days. Then my prcccptor
astonshcd the court ana the prosecuting
| attorney He intcrposcd "a plea Of autcr-
| foits acquit prcvious conviction) and
| proved it by the justice of the peace and
his records There is a provision Of the
| constitution which prevents prosecuting u
man more than once for the same oifcnsc,
and Morgan was discharged The poor old
tI...
and my old rrcccptor was also rcproachcd
Tor sharp practice"
| % But that is neither good law nor prac-
| ticc, objected listener.
| 1T was good enough for Ohio ut that
1ilun and il r-ri.linlv s.Lt istl..l tln