Page:The World's Most Famous Court Trial - 1925.djvu/215



Court met pursuant to adjournment. Present as before.

Prayer by Rev. Standefer:

Almighty God, our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for all the kindly influences Thou hast surrounded our lives with. Thou hast been constantly seeking to invite us to contemplate higher and better and richer creations of Thine, and sometimes we have been stupid enough to match our human minds with revelations of the infinite and eternal. May we, as a nation, have Thy guiding and directing presence with us in all ultimate things, and wilt Thou this morning be the directing presence that supplements human limitations and enables each individual in his respective position to meet the full requirements of this position. Do Thou grant to all of us Thy presence and Thy direction in all things, we ask for Christ sake. Amen.

The Court—Mr. Sheriff, open court.

(Court was then opened.)

The Court—If there is any member of the jury in the courtroom, let him at once retire. Any member of the jury anywhere about the courtroom, let him at once retire. You gentlemen have seats in the bar. No member of the jury in the courtroom?

The Court—In the trial of a case there are two things that the court should always endeavor to avoid:

First—The doing of anything that will excite the passions of the jury, and thereby predjudiceprejudice [sic] the rights of either party.

Second—The court should always avoid writing passion into his own decrees.

On last Friday, July 17, contempt and insult were expressed in this court, for the court and its orders and decrees, when the following colloquy occuredoccurred [sic] between the court and one of the attorneys interested in the trial of the case:

Mr. Darrow—What we are interested in, counsel well knows what the judgment and verdict in this case will be. We have a right to present our case to another court and that is all we are after. And they have no right whatever to cross-examine any witness when we are offering simply what we expect to prove.

Court—Colonel, what is the purpose of a cross-examination?

Mr. Darrow—The purpose of cross-examination is to be used on the trial.

Court—Well, isn't it an effort to ascertain the truth?

Mr. Darrow—No, it is an effort to show predjudiceprejudice [sic]. Nothing else. Has there been any effort to ascertain the tenth in this case? Why not bring in the jury and let us prove it?

Court—Courts are a mockery—

Mr. Darrow—They are often that, your honor.

The Court—When they permit cross-examination for the purpose of creating prejudice.

Mr. Darrow—I submit, your honor, there is no sort of question that they are not entitled to cross-examine, that all this evidence is to show what we expect to prove and nothing else, and can be nothing else.

The Court—I will say this: If the defense wants to put their proof in the record in the form of affidavits, of course they can do that. If they put witnesses on the stand, and the state desires to cross-examine them, I shall expect them to do so.

Mr. Darrow—We except to it, and take an exception.