“You can,” Sampson said. “That’s exactly what I want you to do, Mr. Diggers. But injustice to you, and injustice to me, and injustice to the people of this State, I want you to be sure to tell what you saw in such a clear-cut, positive manner, that you can’t be trapped, on cross-examination, into being made to appear foolish. Now, do you see what I’m driving at?”
Diggers nodded.
“Now, then,” Sampson went on, “if you saw her hands, you must have seen her bag, because she must have been carrying the bag in her hand. Perhaps you’ve never thought of it in exactly that way before. Perhaps you haven’t reconstructed the scene in all of its details, but after you leave the office I want you to go over the thing in your mind’s eye, so that you can see exactly what happened, in just the way it happened. Now, in regard to the contents of that bag — you had the ambulance driver check on the contents, didn’t you?”
“I certainly did,” Diggers said, “and it’s a good thing I did, too, with all those diamonds in the bag, she might have claimed there was a shortage she might have claimed; I not only hit her, but swiped a diamond or two...”
“Exactly,” Sampson said, “that’s just the point I’m going to make in front of the jury, that your action in having the inventory of that bag made, was the action of a careful man, it was the action of a thoughtful man; it was the action of a law-abiding citizen; it was the action of a man who doesn’t lose his head in an emergency. It shows that you were cool, that you were calm and collected; that you saw exactly what was taking place, and that your testimony is to be trusted... Now, you found the gun in the bag, didn’t you?”
“Well, the gun was just outside the bag, lying on the pavement.”
“Not outside of the bag,” Sampson said, “the gun could hardly have been entirely out of the bag. You must have seen just a part of the gun protruding from the bag. You see, that’s one of the things the lawyers will try to trap you on. They’ll try to make you swear that these things weren’t in the bag when you first saw them. Now, there’s a distinction between being in the bag, and being visible through an opening in the bag, and I want you to be careful to remember that. In other words, Mr. Diggers, you haven’t anything to fear if you get on the stand and tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But I want you, in justice to yourself, and in justice to me, to be sure it’s the truth you’re telling and I don’t want you to guess and I don’t want you to hedge. I don’t want you to testify to what happened as though it was a conclusion on your part, but I want you to testify to facts, in a manner which shows they are facts. And above all, I don’t want you to let Perry Mason make a fool of you. Remember that when he starts cross-examining you, he may appear to be friendly; He may appear to be just trying to help you get your testimony straight; but regardless of the way he starts out, what he’s really doing is trying to trap you; he’s trying to get you off guard, trying to lull you into a sense of security, so he can trick you into making some indefinite statement so he can get you to say, ‘I think,’ or ‘I guess,’ or ‘It seems to me,’ or something of that sort. Now, you’re a reasonably intelligent man, Mr. Diggers. Do you think that I can depend on you to hold your own when you get on the witness stand, and not be trapped into telling some lie?”
“I won’t lie,” Diggers said. “I’m going to tell the truth.”
“That’s exactly what I want,” Sampson told him. “That’s your duty to yourself and as a citizen. Now, I want you to go home and keep thinking over and over in your mind what happened until you can see it clearly. I want you to visualize everything which took place, just as though you were looking at a motion picture. Sarah Breel ran out from the curb. You saw her for four or five steps; you saw her hands plainly; you saw the bag in her hand; you saw her run in front of the automobile; you swerved the automobile and put on the brakes; you struck her; you got out and ran around the car; she was lying there, partially on her side, her face down; the bag was lying in front of her where it had been dropped. You looked down at the bag, and the first thing you saw was a gun, partially protruding from the bag; you stopped a passing motorist for help; you summoned an ambulance, and you checked the contents of the bag with the motorist and with the ambulance driver; you found these diamonds when you made that inventory.
“Now, you testify to those facts, and don’t let anyone rattle you. And remember, Mr. Diggers, I’m depending on you. The district attorney’s office is depending on you.