and who out of curiosity had remained in court. He rejoiced
in the name of Stone. Both sides then agreed to accept him as
foreman provided he was still willing to serve, and this
proving to be the case he triumphantly made his way towards
the box. As he did so, the defendant's counsel remarked: "The
Stone which the builders refused is become the head Stone of
the corner." The good-will generated by this meagre jest
stood him later in excellent stead.

In default of any other defence, some criminal attorneys have
been known to seek to excite sympathy for their helpless
clients by appearing in court so intoxicated as to be
manifestly unable to take care of the defendant's interests,
and prisoners have frequently been acquitted simply by virtue
of their lawyer's obvious incapacity. The attitude of the
jury in such cases seems to be that the defendant has not had
a "fair show" and so should be acquitted anyway. Of course,
this appeals to the juryman's sympathies and he overlooks the
fact that by his action the prosecution is given no "show" at
all.

Generally speaking, the advice credited to Mr. Lincoln, as
being given by him to a young attorney who was about to defend
a presumably guilty client, is religiously followed by all
criminal practitioners:

"Well, my boy, if you've got a good case, stick to the
evidence; if you've got a weak one, go for the People's
witnesses; but--if you've got no case at all, hammer the
district attorney!"