“It’s always proper to show bias, Your Honor.”
“Objection overruled. Witness will answer.”
“Are you familiar with the provisions of the will?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Are you a beneficiary of Jack Walsh’s will?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“No, sir. As you well know. The only beneficiary of that will is Jeremy Dawson.”
“You’re referring to the handwritten will that was in Jeremy Dawson’s possession when he was arrested by the police?”
“Your Honor, Your Honor,” Dirkson said. “Objected to as leading and suggestive, and assuming facts not in evidence. Counsel is now going into parts of the prosecution’s case which we have not yet set forth.”
“Objection overruled,” Judge Grimes said. He turned to the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Let me explain. The matters Counsel is going into now are not in evidence, and are not to be considered by you as such. You are to consider only how these matters relate to the bias of this particular witness.” He turned back to Steve. “Proceed, Mr. Winslow.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. The question was whether you were referring to the holographic will found in Jeremy Dawson’s possession when he was arrested by the police?”
“Yes, I was.”
“That was the will purportedly written by Jack Walsh on February 26th?”
“That’s right.”
“And you say the only beneficiary of that will is my client, Jeremy Dawson?”
“Well, actually, I’m left a thousand dollars. As are the other relatives. But I don’t consider that making me a beneficiary, somehow. I consider it a slap in the face.”
Steve frowned. “So, if I understand what you’re saying, your contention is that you are not biased in this matter because you are not a principal beneficiary in the will?”
“Exactly.”
“Fine. Then let me ask you this. Is it not true that you have already consulted a lawyer and are contesting that will?”
“Yes, I am.”
“On what grounds?”
“Lots of grounds.” Carl Jenson ticked them off on his fingers. “The will was made under undue influence. The will was made while Jack Walsh was not of sound mind. And the will wasn’t finished. It’s not even signed.”
“Do you expect to win the will contest?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I take it you are a beneficiary of a previous will made by Jack Walsh?”
“Yes, I am.”
“As I understand it, in that previous will, you and four other relatives, including Jeremy Dawson, are the principal beneficiaries, each to receive an equal share of the estate. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And you and the other beneficiaries, excluding Jeremy Dawson, have consulted a lawyer for the purpose of contesting the handwritten will found in the possession of Jeremy Dawson?”
“Yes, we have.”
“And did that lawyer tell you that no person convicted of murder may profit from inheritance from his victim, so if it should be proven in court that Jeremy Dawson killed Jack Walsh, he could not and would not inherit, regardless of any will?”
There was a pause. Carl Jenson frowned.
“Can you answer that, Mr. Jenson?”
“I think he said something to that effect.”
“Oh, you do, do you?” Steve said. “Well, let’s see where that leaves us. You are contesting the will and you expect to win. In the event that you do, you will receive one-fifth share in an estate worth millions of dollars. On top of that, if Jeremy Dawson should be convicted of the crime and could not inherit, you would receive one-fourth share of said estate. But is it not true that in any case, you will inherit that money if and only if Jack Walsh is proven dead? To put it another way, is it not a fact that if the murdered man found in the subway tunnel turns out to be Jack Walsh, you stand to share in an estate worth millions of dollars, but if the man found in the subway tunnel is
Jenson shifted on the witness stand. “I’m not a lawyer.”
“No, but you’ve consulted one. And I’m asking you, in your own mind, are you not aware that if that body is identified as Jack Walsh you stand to inherit money, and if it isn’t you don’t? And does that in any way color your recollection, in any way influence your remarkable memory to come up with the details of an unimportant and eminently forgettable incident you claim happened some twenty-five years ago?”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m just telling you what happened.”
“You remember it clearly?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Jack Walsh fell down and hit his leg on a rock?”
“Yes, he did.”
“His right leg?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re certain of that?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Could not have been his left leg?”
“No, it couldn’t.”
“You remember that so clearly that you can swear absolutely that it could not have been his left leg?”
“No. It was his right.”
“And the fact that if it had been his left leg you might lose a million dollars doesn’t cloud your memory at all?”
“No. It was his right leg.”
Steve Winslow rolled his eyes, shook his head, gave the jury the benefit of his look of utter disbelief. “Thank you so much, Mr. Jenson,” he said ironically. “No further questions.”
Judge Grimes took a twenty-minute recess. When court reconvened, he frowned, took a breath and said, “I have considered that matter carefully. It now appears that there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to conclude that the body found in the subway station was indeed Jack Walsh. Therefore we may consider the
“Now, the witness, Bissel, was withdrawn from the stand in order that this new evidence might be heard. And the defense reserved its cross-examination until such time as it should be determined if his testimony was in evidence. That time is now. Return the witness, Bissel, to the stand for cross-examination.”
35
Steve Winslow couldn’t believe how quickly things had turned around. He’d had Dirkson on the ropes. He’d been that close to winning a dismissal. And then Carl Jenson stepped up to the plate and made it a brand new ballgame. Steve had been able to show how implausible, farfetched, and likely to be biased Carl Jenson’s testimony was, but he hadn’t been able to contradict it. And taken at face value, Jenson’s testimony had done the trick. Just like that, the body had been I.D.’d as Jack Walsh, Joseph Bissel’s testimony had been reinstated, and Steve was right back in the position he had been fighting to avoid, that of having to cross-examine a homeless man.
