Henry B Truett Early Trial Essay

In 1838, Henry B. Truett was convicted of the murder of Jacob Early. Early (a physician) and Truett became enraged in a political quarrel; a quarrel that was provoked by Truett. His young, inexperienced attorney—who had been practicing law for less than two years—spoke to the jury in a controversial yet engaging tone. The young attorney painted the events that led to the murder of Early in vivid color for the jury. While Truett had provoked Early, Early’s rage grew to such levels Truett felt his life was in imminent danger. Early raised a heavy wooden chair in front of him and circled Truett like a hawk about to conquer his prey. When Early came within three feet of Truett, Truett fired the shot that killed Early. Although the prosecution was not short on facts that painted Truett as a

Lincoln was practicing in a court of law; he was not trying to convince a group of individuals of Truett’s innocence at a local pub. Emotion alone, while helpful in the courtroom in some regards such as closing and opening statements and proving certain elements such a genuine fear of loss of life, possibly would not have handed Lincoln a victory. His ability to “zealously represent” his client was due to his preparation long before he stepped into a courtroom. A large part of this preparation is the construction of elements taught in this class: case briefs and legal memorandums. These devices help an attorney understand the interconnected fibers between statutes and common law as they apply to a case at hand. Lincoln, for example (much like our class work regarding Jeffrey Bing), explored how Illinois murder statutes applied to the case at hand. Like the Bing case, Lincoln knew the picture he had to paint in the courtroom: a vivid tale of how his client shot and killed Early out of a fear for his life. Lincoln would not have been as great a client advocate in the absence of