The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-30
PHILADELPHIA Ledgerl

The incident occurred in southern
town many years ago. The court was
presided over by a rural magistrate, to
whom counsel for the defense at once
directed his remarks.
Il realize, the attorney began. that
1 stand in the presence of a descendant
of the grand old Huguenot family that
emigrated from France to escape relig-
ious intolerance. Many able jurists
have sprung from that family and en-
belltshed the bench and bar of the
Union. Their watchwords are honor,
truth, and justice, and their names are
spoken in every home. The law is so
plain in this case that he who runs
may read Shall I insult the intelli-
gence of this court by reiterating a
proposition so simple and elementary?
Need I say more?"
NO" interrupted the Judge, "'tain't
necessary-Fn give you a Judgment"
Counsel sat down, while the Judge
with emphasis, knocked the ashes from
his cOrncOb pipe, and counsel for the
plaintiff began:
May it please the court
Squire, what are you fixing to do?"
asked the honorable court.
7 have the closing argument" was
the reply.
well, you might jest as well set
I've made up my mind for the other
side. Judgment for the defendant"
X X X
The difficulty of impaneling a jury in
the early courts of Wisconsin may be
seen from a story related by a lawyer
Of that state. afterward a senator of
the United States.
Judge Irwin was on the bench, and
murder trial was pending. G. T.
nW0rw
Long, was under sheriff. There was
difficulty in getting a jury that knew
nothing about the facts of the case. The
regular panel had been exhausted, and
special Venire had been issued and
was finally returned.
We'll, Mr.. Long" asked the Judge,
have you at last secured a sufficient
number of jurymen who know nothing
about the case?"
Yes, your honor" replied Long; six
of them know nothing about this case,
and the other six know nothing at all"
X X
In Arkansas not many years ago a
country justice of the peace called
upon retired attorney, and after pre-
senting a statement of facts. asked, as
matter of friendship. for a legal opin-
ion upon them. This the attorney gave.
When the attorney finished the squire
rose and said:
well. those are just the facts in
case L am gOin' to try next Saturday
in my court, ana l knowed you'd give
me the right kind of an opinion, so I
came to you. The costs in that case
viii be just $3.50, and / am willing to
divide with you When I was a can
didate, some of the folks in my county
were mean enough to say that I would
not know how to run this Office / in
tend to show them that I do. The next
case I have I'll come to you again. and
Wen run that court right or bust a
hamstring a-tTying."
With that the justice of the peace
dropped 1915 on his astonished friends
desk and took his departure, satisfied
that his first case would get the right
kind of a decision when it came up for
trial on the following Saturday.
x = x
A Missouri judge. travelling on cir
cult, once had before him. in a small
country town, a case in which a tavern
keeper was held for the payment on a
land transaction of large amount of
money which he had not agreed def
nitely TO pay. The court declared that,
although his agreement was not on
record, it was involved IN a business
proceeding connected with it.
After judgment had been rendered.
the court adjourned for dinner. and the
judge found that the only eating house
in the place was the inn kept by the
defendant in the case he had lust de-
cided. He also found that the defend
ant personally superintended the prep
aratiOn of the meals, and that the food
was charged for on the European plan.
The judge called for two boiled eggs.
which, with the other food he ordered,
were brought to him done to a turn.
He ate them, and at the end of the
meal the bill was presented to him. He
was astonished to read on it the follow
ing items:
Two boiled eggs. ................15 cents
Two chickens at IS cents.....S1.50
Calling the proprietor he asked:
'How's this? I've had no chickens.
Why do you charge me for them?"
Those are constructive chickens,
your honor" answered the innkeeper.
"What?"
"Why. they are implied in the eggs,
you know" the man persisted.
His honor began to understand, and
said no more.
x x k
1t is not necessarily great elOquence
or wisdom that gives a lawyer influence
over mems minds; the happy knack OF
telling homely story with point
at just the suspicious moment has
saved many a losing side. The world
wide exemplar of this is, of course,
Abraham Lincoln; but he has had a
multitude of followers.
The late George Vest of Missouri was
once defending a young man from the
charge of larceny. The evidence against
him was purely circumstantial, but
strong. Vest claimed that no man
should be convicted upon circumstan-
tial evidence alone.
Why" he said, when I was a boy,
I knew another lad who, while his par
ents were absent, went to the pantry
and nearly devoured a custard pie.
Then, fearing the consequences, he
looked about for means of hiding the
traces of his guilt.
Seeing the cat, he took her, smeared
her face and paws with the custard,
and then, taking the innocent animal
into the back yard, he shot her. AS
he did so the boy observed to me,
There goes one more victim of circum-
stantial evidencep"
Vest won the case.
X X X
John Quincy Adams of MasSdchu-
sets, third of that name, who died
oh Of