“That was when I first glanced at it.”
“So you studied the photograph, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And did you become more positive as you studied the photograph?”
“Yes, sir.”
“However, you weren’t completely convinced from just looking at the photograph, were you?”
“No, sir. What completely convinced me was when I saw the defendant in a police show-up, or shadow box, or whatever it is they call them.”
“And then you were certain?”
“I picked her out of a line of five women who were standing in the box. I picked her out unhesitatingly.”
“And that was after you had been studying her photograph?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, let’s be frank, Miss Hamlin, isn’t there at least a distinct possibility that you had studied that photograph so carefully in making a conscientious attempt to determine whether it was or was not a photograph of the person you saw leaving the room, that when you saw the defendant your mind almost subconsciously identified her with the photograph, and therefore you made the identification?”
“When I saw that woman in the line-up I was absolutely positive she was the woman who had been leaving the room in the hotel.”
“Now, would you be good enough to explain to the Court just where you were when the woman left the room in the hotel.”
“You mean room 721?”
“Yes.”
“I was down at the end of the corridor by the fire escape, pretending to go about my duties as maid.”
“And what particular duties were you doing at the time?”
“I pretended to be knocking on a door, as though I were checking towels.”
“I assume from your manner that you’re a rather remarkably efficient young woman, are you not, Miss Hamlin?”
“I try to be.”
“And in acting the part of the maid you did your conscientious best to act just as a maid would do under similar circumstances?”
“Mr. Mason, I am interested in amateur theatricals. I have studied acting. I think I have the ability to be a very good actress. I try to be efficient in everything I do. I realize that in order to portray a person and act a part successfully, you have to visualize that you actually are that person.”
“So you visualized that you were the maid?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And went about doing things just as a maid would do?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And a maid wouldn’t take too keen an interest in a woman who stepped out of a room and walked down the corridor, would she?”
“Just a glance, that’s all.”
“So you, making a good job of acting the part of the maid, gave just a glance?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, why had you gone to the end of the corridor by the fire escape?”
“I think that is quite obvious, Mr. Mason. I didn’t want to have the person who emerged from that room inspect me too closely. Therefore I went to the far end of the corridor. I knew that when she emerged from the room, no matter where she was going, whether she went to the elevator or the stairs, she would have to walk along the corridor. Under those circumstances, she couldn’t meet me face to face.”
“In other words, she turned her back to you?”
“Yes. But not before I had seen her face when she emerged from the room.”
“How far was the door of that room from where you were standing at the end of the corridor?”
“I don’t know. Twenty or thirty feet perhaps.”
“How was the corridor illuminated? What kind of lights?”
“It was a dim illumination, but I saw her all right, Mr. Mason. I looked at her. I made up my mind I’d take a good look at her, and I did.”
“You gave her just a glance, just as a maid might have looked up casually from her work?”
“Well, I–I took a good look.”
“A few moments ago,” Mason said, “you testified that you gave her a casual glance.”
“Well, with me, a casual glance is a good look.”
“I see. But it wasn’t good enough so you could positively identify her when you first saw that photograph?”
“A person hesitates to make a positive identification from a photograph.”
“That’s all,” Mason said.
“And now,” Hamilton Burger said, “I’ll call my main witness. Mr. Perry Mason take the stand, please.”
Mason unhesitatingly walked forward, held up his hand, took the oath and seated himself on the witness stand.
“This is, of course, a most unusual procedure,” Judge Lennox said.
“It’s a situation I tried to avoid,” Hamilton Burger pointed out. “I tried to avoid it by every means in my power.”
“To ask an attorney for the defendants to give testimony which would help convict the defendants is, of course, an anomalous situation,” Judge Lennox observed dubiously.
“That is the reason it is considered unethical for an attorney to act in a dual capacity,” Burger said. “I tried to spare Mr. Mason the embarrassment of being placed in such a position.”
“He is a necessary witness?” Judge Lennox asked.
“Absolutely, Your Honor. As the Court will realize from a contemplation of the evidence as it now stands in this case, it is necessary for me to prove the identity of the people who were participating in the conversation which took place in that room.”
“Of course, the conversation itself hasn’t been admitted yet.”
“That’s what I’m laying the foundation for, Your Honor.”
“Of course,” Judge Lennox pointed out, “the situation would be simplified if the defendants had some other attorney associated with Mr. Mason, who could assume charge of the defendants’ case at this point.”
“That would not be satisfactory either to the defendants or to me, Your Honor,” Mason said. “We’ve heard a lot of talk about ethics. Perhaps, if the Court please, I should quote from a California decision reported in 187 California 695, where the Court says:
“ ‘We are of the opinion that too much importance has been given, and too much irritation developed, over the fact that much of the evidence for the plaintiff was given by one of the attorneys in her behalf, as a witness in the case. So far as the court is concerned such testimony is to be received and considered, as that of any other witness, in view of the inherent quality of his testimony, his interest in the case, and his appearance on the witness stand.
“ ‘The propriety of a lawyer occupying the dual capacity of attorney and witness is purely one of legal ethics largely to be determined by the attorney’s own conscience. While it is not a practice to be encouraged, it may often occur that conditions exist in which an attorney cannot justly or fairly withhold from his client either his legal services or his testimony as a witness.’”
Judge Lennox seemed impressed by the citation. “Very well, Mr. Mason,” he said, “your position seems to be legally sound. In fact, from time to time you seem to find yourself in predicaments from which you extricate yourself by unusual methods which invariably turn out to be legally sound. The Court feels you are fully capable of looking after your own as well as your clients’ interests. We seem to be making judicial history as far as this court is concerned.”
“Mr. Mason,” Burger said, “I am going to ask you if, on the early morning of the third of this month, you were not present in room 721 at the Keymont Hotel?”
“I was.”
“Were you alone?”
“No.”
“A young woman was with you?”
“During a part of the time.”
“I believe she entered the room after you had arrived.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You went to the hotel?”