The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-08
COOperCase At Nashville Prom ises Sensation Before Ar-
 gument Is Finished
JUDGE HART PROMISES
 ID MAKE SHORT CHARGE
Question of Who Fired First Shot la Principal Factor For Attorneys to Deal With in Summing
 Up the Evidence.

Nashville. March Tt is not inn probable that before the arguments begin tomorrow in the Cooper Sharp trial for the murder of former Sena- tor E. W. Carmack another arrest for perjury will be made on the auth ority of Attorney General McCarn This time the accused will be a man of prominence whose testimony was natly contradicted by half dozen people of unimpeachable character. The states attorneys spent the entire day read ing the transcript of the testimony and preparing their notes for the areu- ments. They also divided the testimony into three sections, so that there will be no time wasted by duplicating their arguments. The attorneys for the de- fense were equally as diligent and it was late tonight when they left Judge Anderson's office for a final consulta- tion at the jail with the defendants.
 Jury Instructions.
 Judge Hart has asked counsel of both sies to submit to him such instruc- tions as they wish to req ch the jury. The attorneys have been busy upon this task for several days and will com plete 1t tomorrow. The judge has pre- pared the statutory charge required by law which defines the different de- grees of murder, explains what is nec- essary to constitute each and what the punishment may be. When he receives the tentative charges from counsel on both sides, he will accept, reject or amend them to suit his view of the law, add such other specific charges as he may believe the evidence justiies - and have the completed charge type- written and placed in the record of the case Judge Hart is as famous for short charges as he is for never being reversed in the supreme court, and he has stated that this charge will be a S brief as is compatible with the many and varied issues developed in the trial. The two points in the case which will be the subject of fercest attack and defense will be the question of who fired the first shot and the question, what were the Coopers doing on Sew enth avenue, the street which Car mack had to traverse and about the time he was wont to go to his apart ments.
 Mrs. Eastman's Testimony.
 Mrs. Charles Eastman, who is the ohly witness 10 the sh ooting aside from the principals affected, and over whose shoulders practically, the shots were fired. has sworn positively that Sena- tor Carmack began to fall from the bullet wounds which killed him be- fore he had his revolver fairly drawn. On the other hand, Colonel Cooper and Robin swear that Carmack fired first and was preparing to fire again when Robin began to work the deadly auto matic pistol. The defense built up a strong excuse for the presence of the Coopers on Seventh avenue on the aft srnoon of November 9. It proved by Judge J. c. Bradford, Adjutant General Fully Brown, Gov. M. R. Patterson and both the Coopers that as the Coopers left the Bradford office a few minutes before the tragedy and after the mem orable conference at which Colonel Cooper agreed to drop the quarrel or leave it's settlement to mutual friends. Governor Patterson called General Brown on the telephone Brown says the governor asked him for Colonel Cooper, that he went out and called the colonel back from the street. and that the colonel came back and talk ed to the governor over the telephone The governor says he asked Colonel Cooper to come to the mansion in 25 minutes. The defense says if was while the Coopers were going there that the meeting occurred.
 Denial of Story.
 But Mrs. Blake. stenographer, and Charles Hayden. prominent business man. swear that when Colonel Cooper lell the office at the conference, he was mot called back by anyone. Both sat in the outside office which was the only means of ingress or egress from or to the Bradford private office in which the conference was held. And further Miss Daisy Lee, Judge Brad ford's private secretary, swears that not only was the colonel not called back to the telephone by General Brown or any one else, but there was no incoming telephone call during that conference or after it until she heard |. Colonel Cooper's voice say: "Is that ss you, Jim? We'll, Robin has killed Car mack
 It was her duty to answer the tele- phone and she swears no call could come in without her knowing it. She did however, hear Colonel Cooper at Judge Bradford's suggestion, can up the governor, but did not hear what was said.
 Tennessee Laws.
 Under the laws of Tennessee a threa f conveyed to person justifies the latter in killing the maker of the threat pro- vided only that the latter commits some overt act when the parties meet. Tn this connection 1t may be interesting to quote Judge Hart's comment in, ruling on the admissibility of testimony tend ing to show that Colonel Cooper, after the conferences, had agreed to let the quarrel rest until settled by mutual friends. The judge said
 ''There is no denial that these threats were communicated to Senator Carmack. There is no doubt that Col onel Cooper committed an overt act when he turned around on Seventh avenue and sought out the senator.