“And he brought the purse out?”
“Yes.”
“Now, Sheriff, there was nothing about that purse itself that showed you when it had been dropped?”
“Well, when you come right down to it, if you take a look at the…”
Mason interrupted firmly, “Sheriff, I’m going to insist on a categorical answer to my question. There was nothing about that purse which indicated when it had been dropped. I’m speaking now about the purse itself.”
“No, sir.”
“It was simply lying there on the sand.”
“Well, of course, it couldn’t have stayed right there in that position on the sand very long.”
“Why not, Sheriff ?”
“Well, there’s the question of tides and sand drifting in.”
“How long would it have stayed there without having been covered with sand? Remember now, you’re on oath, Sheriff.”
“Well… of course I don’t know.”
“I gathered that you didn’t,” Mason said, smiling. “Now, since you have stated quite frankly there was nothing about the purse which would show when it was dropped, for all you know that purse could have been dropped by anyone, including the defendant, the Saturday night before the murder.”
“You’re talking about the purse now?”
“About the purse,” Mason said.
“Well, if you want to limit it to die purse, I guess so, but when you take the contents …”
“I’m talldng now about the purse,” Mason said.
“Very well, about the purse.”
“There was nothing that would indicate the purse couldn’t have been dropped on Saturday night?”
“Well, I guess not, no, sir.”
“Now, did you know anything about the defendant having been out at that place the Saturday night before the murder?”
“No, sir, not of my own knowledge.”
“Well, do you know anything at all about it?”
“Oh, Your Honor,” Gloster said, “I’m going to object to anything that the sheriff doesn’t know of his own knowledge.”
“That’s quite right,” Mason said. “I thought perhaps you were going to bring the facts out sooner or later and we might as well get them before the Court.”
Gloster said, “The only facts I intend to bring out are the facts indicating that this defendant murdered George Alder. If there are any other facts it’s up to the defense to bring them out.”
Mason gave that matter frowning consideration for a moment, then said, “Very well, if that’s your position IH remain within the technical limitations of evidence and expect you to do the same, sir.”
The sheriff volunteered a statement. “The contents of the purse show when it was dropped,” he said.
“The contents?” Mason asked.
“When we looked inside the purse,” the sheriff explained, grinning triumphantly, “we found a clipping which had been cut from the Express on the morning of the third, a clipping which related to a fifty-thousand- dollar jewel burglary, and the complaint of Alder that…”
“Just a moment, Sheriff,” Mason said. “The clipping itself is the best evidence, not your recollection of its contents.”
“Very well. The clipping’s right here.”
Mason hesitated for a moment while he gave the situation swift consideration, then he said, “Now, Your Honor, I am going to object to the introduction of the purse itself on the ground that no proper foundation has been laid as to a question of time, and I am going to object to the contents of the purse being received in evidence on the ground that the contents are incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, except insofar as those contents may show the ownership of the purse. I am going to object particularly to any newspaper clipping by which the prosecution may seek to prejudice the defendant in the eyes of the jury.”
“Of course, Your Honor,” Gloster pointed out, “if the contents of the purse are material and relevant, and we insist they are, the fact that they may also disclose matters which the defense would like to keep from this jury does not affect their being received in evidence.”
“Let me take a look at the contents of that purse,” Judge Garey said.
The sheriff handed up the envelope.
Judge Garey inserted his hand in the envelope, fumbled through the contents for a moment, then dumped them all on his desk, made a painstaking inventory, and seemed considerably interested in the newspaper clipping.
This clipping was from the Express?” he asked.
“On the morning of the third,” Gloster said.
“Under those circumstances, it would seem to be relevant. Of course, the Court will permit its introduction in evidence solely for the purpose of proving the date at which the purse must have been dropped into the water. It will not be evidence as to anything contained in the clipping itself. That is, any matters set forth in the clipping are not part of the evidence in this case, and the jury will be instructed to limit their consideration to the question of time.”
Mason said, ‘Your Honor, youll recognize that in view of the contents of that clipping it would be absolutely impossible for any human being on the jury to follow the Court’s instructions and limit the consideration they are to give it”
“Well,” Judge Garey said, “the Court gives the instructions. The rest of it is up to the conscience of the jurors.”
Mason said, “If we are going to open the door, I would much prefer to have all of the evidence brought in and treat the entire transaction as part of the res gestae. Let’s have the court record as to what happened in connection with the charge made.”
“I don’t want it handled that way,” Gloster said. “I’ll put on the prosecution’s case and if the defendant wants to put in any justification or any other matters that’s the defendant’s privilege … providing only the evidence is pertinent But the thing he’s asking for now won’t be pertinent. We’re trying a murder case, not a burglary which took place some time previously. All we want is to show by this clipping when the purse was dropped into the water.”
“All right then,” Mason said, “IH stipulate that the testimony will be that the purse contained a clipping which came from a newspaper published on the day of the murder, and with that stipulation the prosecution won’t need to put the clipping into evidence.”
“I don’t want your stipulation,” Gloster said. “I want the jury to judge that clipping.”
“You see, Your Honor,” Mason said. “He wants to have the jurors read the clipping and be prejudiced by the contents. This talk of limiting the purpose for which it is to be introduced is utterly meaningless.”
Judge Garey said, “The question of the date is rather important here, and if this newspaper clipping is from a paper which didn’t appear on the streets till around noon on the third, and the purse was recovered on the evening of the third shortly after the murder had been committed, the Court would seem to have no alternative but to admit this as evidence but limit it purely for the purpose of showing date … unless Counsel wishes to accept your stipulation, and apparently Counsel does not”
Mason said, “Very well, Your Honor. I have two or three additional questions to ask about the purse itself,”
“Go ahead.”
“Now, Sheriff, you have stated that when this purse was recovered it was placed in an envelope and sealed. The contents were placed in another envelope and that envelope was sealed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And the various parties present wrote their names on the envelopes?”
That’s right.”
“And the envelopes were then sealed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“When was this done?”
“Almost immediately after the purse was recovered.”
“What do you mean by almost immediately?”
“Well, within a very short time.”
“What do you mean by a short time?”