His part of the case is over. While the proof was being given he was
alert. True, the charge is coming afterwards, but he knows fairly well
what he is going to say, and it is going to be formal. It is the
function of the judge to control the address of counsel, but the
counsel are sometimes very hard to control.
In the criminal trials, reference is made to the emotions of the
defendant's family; the devoted, anxious wife, the poor little
children who may bear the stigma of their father's disgrace, should
the verdict go against him. Since the domestic life of neither party
to the trial has appeared in evidence, such things being entirely
"irrelevant and immaterial," it does not make a great deal of
difference whether the picture is accurate or wholly fanciful. The
defendant may be a drunkard, a burden to his wife, and a horror to his
children; he may have abandoned his family to their own resources; it
is possible that he has never had any family at all. The lawyer has no
right to refer in his summing up, or otherwise, to anything that has
not been properly submitted in evidence. He is guilty of unfair
practice in telling the jury about the defendant's family or
circumstances, unless this has been part of the case, which is
improbable.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160