The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-03-29
This 10 Judge Hamilton's View Which
He Stated TO Court In Ruling
in Wilson
Case.
VERDICT IS DIRECTED
Court Says Case is Never Sent to Jury
to Permit Them to Guess
on What Caused
Accident.

to support them, their verdictS can
not be left to conjecture or to INFER
ence from mere possibilities, Judge
w. S. Hamilton said yesterday in sus-
tanning motion for directed verdict
in the case OF Wilson vs.. the Power
company.
After announcing his ruling sus-
tanning the motion, Judge Hamilton
said:
II feel that it is but fair to counsel,
the jurors and the parties concerned,
to state the reasons which, in my
opinion. make this ruling necessary,
and which have impelled the court to
assume the responsibility which the
court has accepted in deciding this
case, as the court believes 1t is his
duty to do.
There are seine material facts
which it Is necessary for the plain
tiff to introduce some evidence of, IN
order to authorize the court to send
this case to the jury, first: to show
gently left by the defendant in the
place where it was; second, that that
particular float was the float which
caused the sinking Of the launch by
which plaintiffs decedent was drown
ed. There Is evidence as to three
floats, located at different places by
the several witnesses.
CircumstantiaI Evidence.
"Of course circumstantial evidence
is very proper to prove the existence
of certain facts: but theory cannot
! be said to be established by circum-
stantial evidence, even in a civil case.
unless the circumstances relied on are
of such a nature and so related to each
other that the only conclusion that
can fairly and reasonably be drawn Is
the one sought for by the plaintir.
That theory may be true, and yet there
| may be no testimony to prove the
theory. The circumstances relied up
| on in this case are very meager the
only testimony connecting the launch
In which the parties were riding with
! the float in question is that some two
days after the accident some RED
paint was found on the float and
some cries were heard in its neighbor'
| hood by witnesses who have testified
| The testimony Of these witnesses Is
not that the cries were all heard al
one time. One witness testified to d
cry about midnieht as a woman's
voice screaming for help, followed by
mans voice saying shut up This
witness does not know where the
cries came from. Miss Meals testi.
mony is that she heard cries far out
+ In the lake ant IN the direction of the
float, These are the circumstances
relied upon to have this jury say that
the launch in question Vas sunk by
that float.
Negative Circumstances.
"Now there are negative circurn-
stances in this case which must be
considered.-cne of which is that one
| of the bodies was found a considerable
distance upstream from the float in
question and another is that neither
the launch in question, having in it
an engine Of the minimum weight OF
enc hundred and fifty pounds, nor
either of the bodies was found in the
vicinity Of this float Notwithstanding
the fact that persons on the float drag
ged around 1t in all directions with
heavy iron hook, and another is that
Miss Neal, who was sitting on her porch
when she heard these cries far out In
the lake had an unobstructed view to-
wards the float, and while she saw
passing steamers over towards the
ether shore, there Is no teSt1mCny tndt
she saw this launch in question in the
neighborhood of this float.
"The verdict of a jury must be bas-
ed on facts and fair differences from
facts which are in evidence. A case is
never sent to jury merely to permit
the Jury to guess what might have
been the cause of the accident. Sew
eral different things misht have trans
pired to bring about certain state or
facts. all of them equally reasonable,
vet a case cannot be permitted to go
70 the jury to allcw them to guess
which one may have been the cause OF
the accident. IF other conclusions
NAV be reasonably drawn as to the
cause of the accident from the facts in
evidence. than that contended for by
the plaintiff, the evidence then does
rot support the conclusion sought to
be drawn therefrom. Verdicts or
i,Iries must have facts to support
them. their verdicts must not be left
TO coniectures; existence Of facts can
not be inferred from mere POSSIBLE
ties"