Milford chronicle., 1903-05-08

ures. There is another old sayin
Nothing is more unjust than law
. Any lawyer who prostitutes his brai
> and energy to plead the dishonest civ
y suit of a client becomes a party to tn
:, corrupt purpose. The lawyer himse
). by that advocacy becomes a dishOnes
S man. Abraham Lincoln won the az
pellation Honest Abe" How? II
q would never allow himself to get mix
ed up in dishonest suit. Many year
ago man went to his office in Spring
field and wanted him to be his attornel
for a certain case. After Mr.. Lincoli
had studied all the facts he turned t,
this man and said: My friend, by
technicality of the law you can wiz
that case, but | viii not argue it fol
you. You are dishonest in your at
tempts TO win that money. If l stood
before a jury to plead for you every
word / uttered would seem to echo in
my mind this sentence: Abe, you are
pleading for an untruth; Abe. you are
a dishonest mani" John j. Crittenden,
the great senator, had marvellous pow
er with a jury. Every Kentuckian
knew that Senator Crittenden would
not under any condition consciously
argue for a dishonest cause Many a
college lad has contracted a habit
which has contaminated his whole fu-
ture by standing up in a literary sOci-
ETY. to champion wrong theme. There
fore, my legal friend, never under any
condition become a party to a fraud by
advocating in a civil suit the dishonest
cause of a corrupt client.
The honest lawyer never uses false
means to plead for a justifable cause.
He never produces false witnesses to
an alibi no matter how much he may
believe in the innocence of the defend
ant. He never believes it honest to be
dishonest or TO tell falsehoOd, no mat
ter how good the cause may be for
which that falsehood has been told.
Tne Lawyers Many Temptations.
But, though this may be all true, the
temptations before honest criminal
lawyers are very great. Believing in .
the innocence of their clients. they
know as no other class of men how
many innocent victims have been sent
TO the penitentiary or the gallOws
through an unbreakable chain of false
evidence In one of our
large cities of the east man was
aroused one night by noise. With
lighted candle and cooked revolver, he
descended the stairs and was shot
dead. An eX-conyict was arrested and
charged with the crime. His lawyer
believed him to be innocent. He did
Ill in his power to save him. He was
hanged. Some years after the exccu-
ion dying convict confessed TO that
rhine and thus proved that an limo.
'ent man had his life chOked out by
alse circumstantial evidence. In the
anne way few years ago a woman
n the far west was murdered. An in
locent man. proved so by later devel-
pments, was found to have suffered
or that crime. | once said to the +,
'arden of Sing Sing penitcntiary. =
Warden, do you believe there are any
lnocent men in this prison who have .,
cen sent here unjustly by circumstan- /,
al evidenceY' Lots of them" he an. :,
wered. Il believe there are lots OF =
lem." "NOw." says the honest law =
er. Il believe my client is innocent. =.
nd yet this false chain of circumstan- h
al evidence will convict him unless | a,
reak it. Is it not right to fight fraud :,
fraud? Am l not justified in using -
ny means to deliver this innocent f.
amp In such a crisis the temptation -
overwhelming to present any evil h,
nee available. even though It is ~,
lown to be false. He argues himself -,
TO this position because he believes -,
is justified in doing a wrong to win Io
right ~
But, my legal friend, two wrongs co
yer make right. No lawyer in any an
pacity is called upon to lie. A false in.
cd is a falsehOOd. no matter how it 90
told. If yOu believe in Justice. your IN
n hands must be clean when they co
lch hers, nor must you cOntaminate nh
lr own lips when you would WOO her VI,
protect the life of your client. If a nm
yyer is willing TO lie for a good fro
lse, the time will not be very far vo,
tant when he will be willing to tell vo,
alsehood to win bad cause. do
he righteous lawyer tries to keep loo
client out of litigation if possible. ole
lt means he does for his client ex- +bs
ly what the honest doctor would do
his patient. The family physician. Yol
hing to the bedside of an invalid. fer
s not say. How long can | keep vor
man sick, so l can make as much crir
ley out Of him as possibleY He tba
s: How soon can make this man cos.
]? The sooner the better Better ber
me; better for the patient" Nel.
does the honest lawyer try to force 81
client into litigation. He knows ofto
often the best way to settle a tbe
] difficulty is outside the court, in tbe,
d Of inside. 49,,
Some Illustrations. inc
actical illustration: A man comes thei
is lawyer and says: 81 have been eeot
lstly treated. and I want S5.OOO our
ages. want you to bring suit serv
away" What does that honest ocul
'er do? He looks all over the de- a m.