One witness comes on the stand and says
3:10, the next witness says he saw him at 3:10, and third says the
same. The jury conclude that the story has been made up.
Yet suppose the first witness says he saw him sometime after lunch,
and the second that he remembers seeing the defendant in the saloon
sometime that day, but he is not sure whether it was in the morning or
the afternoon, and the third witness says that he saw him during the
week, but that he does not remember the day, whether a Thursday or a
Friday--it is probable that the defendant will have a much better
chance of succeeding with his alibi.
The lady in the car could not remember the time of the day, except
that it was near the children's bed time. She had heard the crash and
seen the wagon turn on to the car tracks. With a great many
objections she finally gets to the point of the crash.
"Did you see the car hit the wagon?" "I object to that as leading,"
says the other lawyer. "It is leading and suggestive." Technically he
may be correct, but if the judge has common sense he overrules the
objection.
The proper question would be: "What happened next?" The witness,
however, might remember the paper bag of oranges she was carrying to
her grandchildren and instead of telling about the accident begin to
describe how she dropped them on the floor.
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