Courts -- United States; Trial practice -- United States
"Say, it's like a vaudeville show to see those two go on," thinks the
juryman. "You couldn't beat it if you put it in an act. Georgie Cohan
or Joe Weber could make their fortunes if they only hired the lawyers
as actors or came into court for their material."
Occasionally the judge calls the lawyers up to his desk and together
they talk over something which the jury can not hear. The jury look
as though they did not care. If they want to talk some more--well, let
them. Perhaps they are planning some game, and the jury will wait
until their turn comes. In the jury-room they can show them what's
what; that is where they know their chance is coming. Even if the
judge is only trying to find out something about the case, that is a
sensible thing to do. Why don't the lawyers come over and talk to the
jury like that? In a few minutes they could ask them some questions
that would settle the whole matter.
The strange part is when a witness has said something and told how he
or she feels about the whole case, which is exactly what the jury want
to know, one of the lawyers jumps up and says he moves to strike that
part all out and the judge strikes out. The lawyer having scored a
hit, then says:
"I ask your Honor to instruct the jury to disregard the testimony just
given."
"Gentlemen," says the judge, "the evidence just given has been ruled
out by the court and is not relevant to the issue, and I must instruct
you to disregard these words of the witness and in arriving at your
verdict not to consider them."
Of all the absurdities that happen in court, the jurymen think that is
the worst. Does the judge or the lawyer believe for a moment that
because they say so the jury are going to forget what the witness
said, especially when it was the very thing they wanted to find out?
They watch the stenographer and they notice he does not even take the
trouble to cross it out of the notebook.
Occasionally a juryman becomes particularly interested and wants to
question something. Usually he is too self-conscious to run the risk
of being snubbed, but sometimes he is bolder and ventures a question.
"Why," asks the juryman, "didn't the defendant give back the goods if
they were not what she wanted?" Both lawyers are on their feet. There
is a mute appeal to the court; both sides are afraid to object to the
question for they think the juryman may have a prejudice if he were
stopped. The judge usually comes to the rescue and tells the juryman
that he is sorry, but that his question is manifestly improper in
form. The evidence should be whether the defendant did a certain thing
or did not do it. The reason why he did it is not in point. After two
or three attempts of this kind the juryman subsides and sits patiently
through the trial without any suggestion. He thinks that there is a
hopelessly complicated game being played before him and he does not
attempt to interfere.
There may be some truth in the theory of the attorney who says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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