Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1907-11-06
DrOII Tales of the Court Room


His honor began TO understand.
and said no more.
Il is not necessarily great elo-
quence or wisdom that gives a law
yer influence over mems minds; the
happy knack OF telling a homely
story with point" at just the aus
picious moment has saved many a.
losing side. The worldwide exem-
plar of this is. of course. Abraham
Lincoln. but he has had multitude
of followers.
The late George Vest of Missouri
was once defending a youth from the
charge of larceny. The evidence
against him was purely circumstan-
tial, but strong. Vest claimed that
no man should be convicted upon cir
cumstantial evidence alone.
why" he said, when l was a
boy, l knew another lad who, while
his parents were absent, went to the
pantry and nearly devoured 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 inno-
cent animal into the back yard, he
shot her. AS he did so the boy OBJ
served to me, There goes one more
victim of circumstantial evidence!'
Vest won the case.
John Quincy Adams of Massachu-
sets, third of that name, who died
about ten years ago, was very fond
of fishing, and not especially fond OF
his legal profession.
One day, the story runs, case IN
which he was counsel was down fol
trial in a Massachusetts court. Mr.
Adams did not make his appearance
but sent a letter to the Judge. Tha
worthy gentleman read it, and ther
postponed the case with the an
nouncement:
''Mr. Adams is detained on impor
| tant business.
1t was afterward learned by col
league of Adams that the letter rea'
as follows:
Dear Judge-For the sake of oil
Isaak Walton, please continue M
case till Friday. The smelts are bit
ing, and | can't leave"
|. In a town in Kansas there was a
one time a justice of the peace VIII
was native of the Emerald Isle, an
whose plumbers occasioned many
smile to the better educated mem
bers of the community.
A subpoena had been issued fror
this Justices court to another Irisl
man to attend as witness in cas-
/. where James Robinson was tn
plaintiff and Richard Morton ct a
were the defendants.
Hennessey, the desired witness, al
peared in court before the trial bega
and during an informal preliminar
, conversation asked bluntly:
Judge, who in the world is Z
al.'?"
. "Well, upon me sowl, Mike" e.
: claimed his honor, in evident amaZ
4 ment, II must say I'm bit surprise
= that an American citizen an man I
t ordinary intelligence should nj
s know the m amin of 'et al But fl
! the binifit of the witness an anr
e other gintlemin prisint that might
t ignorant as well as Mike Henness
. I'll explain. 1t is derived from tv
G Latin wurds, contracted, an man
in it's litheral an American sins
}, at all, at all! F"
t Joseph Willard, for many yea
g clerk to a court in New Jersey, us,
to tell of one of the funniest, as we
as one of the noisiest scenes in cou
:. of which he had been witness
il A SANDER case was being tried b
:. fore Judge Carter. The princip
# witness was an impetuous old &c
. man woman. She talked so fast tn
+ his honor was unable to follow h
i testimony, especially as it was q
= livered in broken English. In va
J. he attempted several times to st
her.
Stop Stop," he cried, rappi
>. sharply on his desk. But the TORE
;. of words went on "Old woms
~ hush up" he shouted in exaspel
n ton. But it was useless. AT last
20 threw down his pen, exhausted, a
= cried out to counsel:
r There. Mr. Hunter! You set h
ls going, now stop her!"
N oorfoin oouY,fyv io;I 0f NJ,