CONDENSED CASES, WITH SKETCHES AND SPEECHES OF THE ART OF WINNING CASES AND MANNER OF COUNSEL DESCRIBED, BANKS & BROTHERS, LAW BOOK PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: 144 NASSAU STREET. ALBANY, N. Y.: 473 & 475 BROADWAY. 1881. PREFACE. Very many jury trials of the past quarter century have contained subjects of exciting and romantic interest. Some have been tried by brilliant advocates, whose names alone foretell sayings of original beauty; men who possessed the art and genius to please and persuade a court and jury, in a rare degree. A few cases are already reported, but many have been lost by lack of a record in an ́enduring form. Wise men have given long lives to the study and art of court practice. Their experience and genius, learning and acumen shine in their victories and sparkle in their speeches in gems of wisdom worth their weight in gold. Law libraries are full of reports and digests, that life is not long enough to read. The details of jury trials in a single year would be more than any man could master. But standing out from the rest, with stirring thoughts and thrilling interest, are celebrated cases of the past twenty years, and eminent orators, who turned the verdict of juries, by their skill and eloquence, that every advocate should know and remember. To read them is to see the art by which great suits are won, while no class of literature is crowded so full of incident, human nature, and the wisdom of everyday life. Some of the most important, with as large a variety as possible, of these cases have been selected, condensed, and here reported, with the details and evidence largely omitted. The language and manner of counsel, wit, stories and sketches, are given to show their weapons of warfare. Examples of how juries are selected, witnesses examined, trials prepared, evidence secured, with rules of practice and rare closing periods, taken from stenographers' notes, briefs of counsel, and careful observation, in a dozen different States. Much could be added, and many eminent names would be mentioned, but they happen not to be personally connected with the cases here cited, and their words have not been saved, in form to use, although kindly disposed, they were unable to furnish the speech or sketch that would be of general interest. This report is confined to modern jury cases, many of which are greatly abbreviated, some are reduced from nine hundred to forty-five pages, while their salient points are aimed to be preserved, and the story kept complete. Many of these cases alone would fill a large volume; but the eloquence, incidents, genius and acumen of counsel, are shown in cross examination, debates on evidence, and arguments to the jury, without verbiage. The power, pathos and ingenuity of the defense, or logic and stern facts of the prosecu tion, have been arranged in as terse and readable a form as I could give them, generally giving from thirteen to thirty pages to a case. 25 X331 |