Indictments,
however, in New York County, whatever may be the case
elsewhere, are no longer "pigeon-holed," and they cannot be
adequately "lost," since certified copies are made of each.
The next step, therefore, is to secure as long a time as
possible before trial.
Usually a prisoner has nothing to lose and everything to gain
by delay, and the excuses offered for adjournment are often
ingenious in the extreme. The writer knows one criminal
attorney who, if driven to the wall in the matter of excuses,
will always serenely announce the death of a near relative and
the obligation devolving upon him to attend the funeral.
Another, as a last resort, regularly is attacked in open court
by severe cramps in the stomach. If the court insists on the
trial proceeding, he invariably recovers. Of course, there
are many legitimate reasons for adjourning cases which the
prosecution is powerless to combat.
The most effective method invoked to secure delay, and one
which it is practically useless for the district attorney to
oppose, is an application "to take testimony" upon commission
in some distant place.
Pages:
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239