Honor to charge further, in the language of the Declaration of Independence, that ‘all men ... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it.’ That—in the words of Thomas Jefferson—‘rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.’”
Smash! went Babson’s gavel. “Sit down! The jury will entirely disregard this stump speech of counsel!”
Mr. Tutt did not sit down. On the contrary, he raised his voice: “I accuse this court of bias, intimidation and unjudicial conduct. I charge the district attorney with prejudicial and unfair methods. In a word, I allege that my client is being railroaded to the electric chair.”
“Sit down, sir!” shouted Babson. “Or I shall declare you in contempt of this court!”
“I have nothing but contempt for this court!” coolly replied Mr. Tutt.
“In that case, I shall order the sheriff to place you under arrest and to remove you from the courtroom.”
O’Brion shook his head warningly toward the bench. That would be going too far.
“Or rather, under the circumstances,” temporized Babson, “I order you to appear before me tomorrow morning to show cause why you should not be fined five hundred dollars for contempt.”
“I shall appear, Your Honor,” answered the Old Man resolutely. “And if this defendant be convicted of murder, may his blood be upon your head.”
Mastering his fury, Babson turned to the men in the box: “The jury will retire!”
III
“Gee, Mr. Tutt!” quoth Officer Gallagher, following the lawyer into the corridor. “You sure had your nerve wid you! I bet no one iver talked like that before to the ould he-devil!”
Mr. Tutt’s trembling lips drew into a wry smile. “And perhaps no one ever will again, Pat! You recall Foch’s famous dispatch to Joffre at the Battle of the Marne? ‘My right has been rolled up; my left has been driven back; my center has been smashed; I have ordered an advance from all directions.’”
“You did that, all right!” quoth the officer. “’Twas like the advice the ould criminal lawyer was afther givin’ to the young feller goin’ to court for the first time: ‘If ye’ve got a good case, harp on th’ facts; if ye’ve got a weak one, attack the law; but if ye’ve got no case at all, lambaste th’ disthrict attorney!’”
“That was the general idea,” agreed Mr. Tutt. “Have a stogie?”
The twelve good men and true, carrying their coats and hats, filed out to the jury room and took their seats around the oak table.
“Well,” announced the foreman, without even lighting his cigar, “I guess there’s not much use wastin’ time on this case. It’s clear what the judge expects us to do. Let’s take a ballot and get it over with.”
The tallies showed eleven for conviction and one for acquittal.
“Good Lord!” groaned the foreman in disgust. “Who’s the only wise man?”
“If you mean who voted for acquittal, I did,” quietly replied No. 7. “I don’t propose to help railroad any man to the electric chair. This feller Halloran didn’t have a fair trial.”
“But the judge practically told us to convict!”
“Exactly! Babson’s no right to try to dictate our verdict. We’re the only judges of the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Didn’t you hear Mr. Tutt say that it was more important to preserve the integrity of the administration of criminal justice than that any particular defendant should be acquitted or convicted?”
“Yeah, I did. And I heard the judge soak him five hundred dollars!”
No. 7 swept the circle.
“Let me ask a single question, gentlemen. How many of you honestly think this defendant had a fair trial?”
No one spoke for a full quarter minute.
“Well,” finally admitted one juror, “they did seem to be givin’ him the bum’s rush!”
“Suppose you got the same kind of bum’s rush?”
“That’s right too!”
“The whole trial was rotten!” declared No. 7 heatedly. “If men like that are to administer the laws, no one of us is safe! Why, they wouldn’t let Mr. Tutt show it was Halloran’s wedding day! No feller in God’s world would choose that anniversary to kill a man! And they never even tried to pin the gun on him! If it was his, why didn’t they prove it? What’s the detective bureau for, anyhow? They had twenty thousand cops and no need to hurry!”
“You said something!” came from across the table.
“As for O’Brion,” continued No. 7, “did you hear the things he said about Halloran’s wife and baby? He’d do anything to get a conviction! Use any kind of pressure! Thomas Jefferson did say that rebellion to tyrants was obedience to God!”
“I don’t think O’Brion’s so hot!” retorted the foreman. “But that don’t mean we shouldn’t convict Halloran. He’s guilty as hell!”
“Only if you take O’Brion’s word for it!” commented someone. “But I wouldn’t believe that bastard under oath—or Babson, either! Imagine him refusin’ to charge the Declaration of Independence!”
“Gosh! Was that the Declaration of Independence?” exclaimed a fat man who was a little hard of hearing.
“O’Brion’s a louse, all right!” remarked another with feeling.
“That don’t make Halloran any less guilty, does it?” reiterated the foreman. “It’s up to us to protect society!”
At that instant through the open windows came, from the street below, the shrill cry of a newsboy: “Extry! Extry! Halloran Convicted of Murder! Jury Finds Murderer Guilty! Extry!” Others joined the chorus:
“Extry! Extry!”
“Vance Halloran Guilty of Murder in the First Degree!”
“Jury Convicts Halloran in Record Time!”
“Listen!” said No. 7. “How about that? Doesn’t it prove exactly what I say? O’Brion’s trying to force us to convict by giving out word that we’ve agreed already!”
A change had come over the face of the foreman. For a moment he seemed to be on the verge of apoplexy. He grew red, his jaw stiffened and his mustaches bristled.
“That settles it for me, by heck!”
