SOME FAMOUS CROSS-EXAMINERS
advantage every accident that might arise in the progress of the case.
"One day a junior was taking a note in the orthodox fashion. Russell was taking no note, but he was thoroughly on the alert, glancing about the court, sometimes at the judge, sometimes at the jury, sometimes at the witness or the counsel on the other side. Suddenly he turned to the junior and said, 'What are you doing?' 'Taking a note,' was the answer. 'What the devil do you mean by saying you are taking a note? Why don't you watch the case?' he burst out. He had been 'watching' the case. Something had happened to make a change of front necessary, and he wheeled his colleagues around almost before they had time to grasp the new situation."[1]
Russell's maxim for cross-examination was, "Go straight at the witness and at the point; throw your cards on the table, mere finesse English juries do not appreciate."
Speaking of Russell's success as a cross-examiner, his biographer, Barry O'Brien says: "It was a fine sight to see him rise to cross-examine. His very. appearance must have been a shock to the witness,—the manly, defiant bearing, the noble brow, the haughty look, the remorseless mouth, those deep-set eyes, widely opened, and that searching glance which pierced the very soul. 'Russell,' said a member of the Northern Circuit, 'pro-
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