Reehil v. Fraas
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Appeal by the defendant, John F. Fraas, from a judgment of the Supreme Court in favor of the plaintiff, entered in the office of the clerk of the county of Kings on the 1st day of April, 1908, upon the verdict of a jury for $8,000, and also from an order entered in said clerk’s office on the 12th day of March, 1908, denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial made upon the minutes.
1Dissent
Miller, J. (dissenting):
The only serious question in this case is whether the plaintiff’s counsel had the right to comment on the fact that the defendant did not call as a witness the young man who was sitting on the seat with the driver when the accident occurred. If it was permissible to *569draw any inference from, the failure to call such witness it was a legitimate subject of comment, and the judgment cannot be reversed merely because erroneous conclusions or unwarranted inferences were drawn by counsel. The widest latitude must be allowed counsel in the discussion of any pertinent fact.…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Sugarman v. BrengelAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1902
- Harriman v. Reading & Lowell Street Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1899
- Williams v. Brooklyn Elevated RailroadNew York Court of Appeals · 1891
- Levine v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1903