The district attorney hag not yet taken up the case; the
prosecution up to this point is of a private character; there
are loud promises of "restitution" and future good behavior
from the defendant, and the occasion is ripe for the lawyer to
urge the complainant to "temper justice with mercy" and
withdraw "before it be too late and the poor man be ruined
forever."
If the complainant is, however, bent on bringing the defendant
to justice and remains adamantine to the arguments of the
lawyer and the tears of the defendant's family connections, it
remains for the prisoner's attorney to endeavor to get the
case adjourned "until matters can be adjusted"--to wit,
restitution made if money has been stolen, or doctors' bills
paid if a head has been cracked, with perhaps another chance
of "pulling off" the complainant and his witnesses. Failing
in an attempt to secure an adjournment, two courses remain
open: first, to persuade the court that the matter is a
trivial one arising out of petty spite, is all a mistake, or
that at best it is a case of "disorderly conduct" (and thus
induce the judge to "turn the case out" or inflict some
trifling punishment in the shape of a fine); or, second, if
it be clear that a real crime has been committed, to clamor
for an immediate hearing in order, if it be secured, to
subject the prosecution's witnesses to a most exhaustive
cross-examination, and thus get a clear idea of just what
evidence there is against the accused.
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