The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-10-26
Tells d Tale of a Lawyer and
An ErriRq Woman.
New York SUM

(New York SUM
In the little group Of men gathered in
the corner of the club cafe there was one
whose white hair and mustache, in
marked contrast to his ruddy face. stood
for long experience Of life If there was
something in his striking appearance
which attracted the attention of men
IT, there was also that in his CONVERSE
tlon which held the attention of those
who were within sound Of his voice.
They had been talking about the
changed conditions which obtain in the
practice of the law nowadays as COM
pared with time which. in the actual
number OF years involved was Tar from
long ago. In these times. one of the
younger men had said the lawyers who
have the great regulations. who earn in
comes, are rarely seen I'm the trial courts.
their strength Their work is done I'm the
quiet of their secluded offices. and agility
or resourcefulness I'm the actual rough
and-tumble of the jury trial has not been
The basis Of their success.
1T is all very much changed from the
time when l was in active practice said
the white-haired old man. In those
days the great LAWYER was the great
pleader. and by that i mean the man who
was the great power with luries, not the
man strong IN argument before the SUI
preme court. 1t was the trial lawyer the
man who was always ready for any sort
OF emergency that might arise. who was
never taken by surprise by anything that
the other side might do, who had been
through the opposing side of the case as
well as his OWn-he was the fellow who
won the big cases and earned the large
fees.
It shall never forget a case which I
saw tried in this city a good many years
ago. Tt was a criminal case, the defend
ant being CHARGED with murder IN the
first degree. Two Of the cleverest law
yers then at the New York bar met in
that trial One was tho district attorney,
the other the leading counsel for the de-
Tense. I remember the delight with
which I followed the case as the trial
progressed and 7 noted how verv thor
OUChly each man had foreseen what the
other would do am prepared himself to
meet it.
"The~a was no question about the kill
ing. The defendant had shot man
twice. and both bullets had gone through
the heart. The defendant was a Young
man who had lived a rather wild life.
but he was not at heart a bad man. He
declared thet the shooting had been en-
tirelv IN self-defense- The dead man was
much larger and STRONGER than he. and
at the time Of the shooting the defendant
was lust recovering from long and seri-
Gus illness
During his illness he had been cared
for by a woman who had had an affair
with the other man. This man came to
their house one evening and attacked
vernly The defendant interfered and the
LARGE man turned on him. Then the
young man shot.
''Tlere was a perceptible interval be-
tween the two shots and it was the con-
, tertion Of the district attorney that in
that interval the Young man had time
enough to realize fully what he was do
ing and SO determine deliberately to kill
his antagOnist. Upon that contention the
district attorney relied for a conviction
( of murder IN the first degree.
The one witness who could give direct
testimony as to the shooting was the
woman She was arrested at the same
Q time as the defendant In fact. they sur
rendered together. going to the police
station and notifying the police of what
! had occurred, They were held in jai
l during the time before the trial. and
| while there both were converted and
/ Joined the Methodist church.
I The trial proceeded rapidly and the
I prosecution made out a fairly good case
/ The woman had not been indicted, and al
4 the last the prosecution decided not e
call her IS witness. The district attOr
| entirely ON the side Of the defendant and
| ne preferred to try TO break the force OF
] her testimony on crOEg-eXa ninatiOn
Z He had discovered that she had had Z
1 checKered career, and he figured on being
I able 20 show the facts from her own lip.
! in such way as to diSCTedit her.
/ The woman was put on the stand by
: the defense, and she told a simple
I STRAIGHTFORWARD story Of the shooting
] which bore out the contention Of the de-
3 fendant- Then she was turned over L
/ the district attorney for crDsS-eXamiDa
/ ton. He had her 81 over the mattel
/ again In the Old detailed way that 81
! many lawyers arnniov. trying to read tn,
i story ont so thin that it would lose force
/ Then he began on her rPr0~0. The do
J Tense he'd made no objections to any o.
Z his questions. and now, as the first on