Perkins v. Burley
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Trover, for a horse. Trial by jury. The plaintiff and his father and brother testified in reference to important matters of fact which were in dispute between the parties.
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Trover, for a horse. Trial by jury. The plaintiff and his father and brother testified in reference to important matters of fact which were in dispute between the parties. The defendant’s counsel, in his closing argument, said it was unfortunate that jurors were called upon to decide cases between parties that were strangers to them, and expressed great regret that the jury did not live in the vicinity of the plaintiff and his father and brother, and that they did not know how they are regarded in the vicinity in which they live, for if they did he would be willing to submit the case without…
1Opinion of the CourtBlodgett, J.
The statement, by the defendant’s counsel in his argument to the jury, that if they knew how the plaintiff and his father and brother “are regarded in the vicinity in which they live ... he would be willing to submit the case without argument,” was, in effect, a declaration that the reputation of the plaintiff and his witnesses was bad in the vicinity of their homes, and was known to be such by the counsel himself. This declaration, not being evidence, was plainly without the bounds of legitimate advocacy, and from its character inevitably tended to prejudice the plaintiffs’ case, and to…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Martin v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1886
3Cited by6 opinions
- Union Pac. R. Co. v. FieldCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1905
- Story v. Concord & Montreal RailroadSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1900
- Greenfield v. KennettSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1898
- O'Barr v. United StatesCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma · 1909
- State v. ButlerOregon Supreme Court · 1919
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