The San Francisco call., 1904-12-18

reducing the principles of cross-exam-
ination, so far as they may be re-
duced. down to the grasp of even the
humblest student of the law
There has been little attempt at an
exhaustively scientific treatment of the
subject. Whole chapters, such as the
one dealing with the cross-examination
or Dr. -, in the celebrated Car
lyle w. Harris murder case, read like
engrossing chapters of romance. The
book is the fruit of a long and dis
tinguished career on the part of Mr..
Wellman as one of the ablest and most
successful trial lawyers before the New
YORK bar. The subject matter, so far
as was practicable, has been set forth
IN the modern inductive, or casebook.
method of legal instruction. Appre-
ciating the difficulties of attempting TO
set down rules for a branch of the law
which must always rest, for its most
signal triumphs, upon the advocates
knowledge of human nature, his intui-
tive knack of catching the weak
point" in witness testimony, at times
even his dramatic ability, Mr. WelIman
has, nevertheless. succeeded in setting
forth the cardinal principles in the art
of cross-examination in a manner so
simple and yet so telling that it must
prove of inestimable benefit to every
lawyer who from necessity or choice
does courtroom work
All the forensics of the greatest Jury
lawyer who ever played upon. the sym
pathies or the passions of twelve good
men and true are but wasted upon the
empty air, provided the cross-exam-
iner has made his point Jurymen
may be, and many times are, preju-
diced against lawyer who has the rep
utation for being a great jury lawyer.
They are afraid and suspicious of his
power to SWAY with words, but even
the dullest juryman can trust his own
powers Of observation and draw his
own conclusions when a witness in the
witness chair has been absolutely dis
credited, tripped up with inconsistent
cies or fatally ensnared with contra
dictions. These matters are the field
of the trial lawyer" and upon his sue
cess in their application rests his case
Defining his subject, Mr.. Wellman
says: Great lawyers have often
failed lamentably at, their cross-exam-
ination, while marvellous success has
crowned the efforts of those who might
have otherwise been regarded as of
mediocre grade in the profession. Yet
personal experience and the emulation
of others trained in the art are the
surest means Of attaining proficiency
in this all-important prerequisite of
h. frs4
quires the greatest ingenuity; a habit
of logical thought; clearness of per-
ception in general; infinite patience
and self-control: power to read mems
minds intuitively, to judge of their
characters by their faces, to appreciate
their motives; ability to act with force
and precision; a masterful knowledge
of the subject matter itself; an ex-
treme caution, and, above all, the in
stinct to discover the weak point in
the witness under examination"
The writer then proceeded to take up
the matter and manner of
cross ss-examination. In chapter
devoted to cross-examination of
perfured witnesses is given a
verbatim extract of Abraham Lincoln's
first defense at a murder trial, where
Lincoln, with a witness in the chair
swearing that third party fired the
shot resulting in the death, not only
breaks UP the testimony of the witness,
but proves that the witness himself
was the murderer. The witness subse-
quently confessed. The book is filled
with equally graphic and diverting ex-
tracts from the trials conducted by the
most eminent advocates who have ap-
pearcd before the American bar
In a chapter on Some Famous
Cross-Examiners and Their Methods
is given a succinct and vivid character
portrayal of some of the greatest Eng
lish and American lawyers of the pres
ent and past, together with compre-
hensive analysis Of the means by which
they attained success. The methods of
Rufus Choate, The Ruler of. the
Twelve Lord Russell of England,
Daniel Webster. jeremiah Mason,
Judge William Fullerton, William NJ
Evarts, Joseph H. Choate. Roscoe
Conkling. Benjamin F. Butler and
many others equally famous are COM
mented on.
Approximately one half of the vol
ume is devoted to verbatim extracts
of some of the most famous cross-ex-
aminations within the authors expert
ence. Notable among those given are