New York Central R. Co. v. Johnson, 279 U.S. 310 (1929)
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New York Central R. Co. v. Johnson
Nos. 455 and 456
Argued March 8, 1929
Decided April 8, 1929
279 U.S. 310
CERTIORARI TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
1. In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have resulted from negligence in the operation of its train, it is competent for the defendant to show, in defense, that the plaintiff’s physical condition was attributable to disease as an independent cause, and this defense may be established as well by cross-examination of plaintiff’s witnesses as by direct testimony of witnesses for the defendant. P. 316.
2. Where, in an action in damages against a railroad for personal injuries, counsel for the defendant attempted to develop, by cross-examination of plaintiff’s witnesses, evidence which would support a defense that the physical condition of the plaintiff was due to syphilis as an independent cause, but formally abandoned this defense at the close of the case, the conduct of counsel for the plaintiff in repeating before the jury that syphilis was the defense in the case, and the use of vituperative language in denouncing the defendant for charging the plaintiff with indecency -- although plaintiff’s own witness had testified that the disease was frequently transmitted to innocent parties -- was calculated improperly to influence the verdict by appealing to passion and prejudice, and is ground for reversal. P. 317.
3. Defense counsel’s want of good judgment or good taste, or even misconduct, in following a line of inquiry on cross-examination which might be availed of to establish a valid defense, but one which was formally abandoned at the close of the case, was not an issue for the jury, and could not excuse misconduct on the part of opposing counsel. P. 317.
4. A bitter and passionate attack on opposing counsel’s conduct of the case, under circumstances tending to stir the resentment and arouse the prejudice of the jury, should be promptly suppressed by the trial court, and failure to sustain an objection to the misconduct or otherwise to make certain that the jury would disregard it enhances its prejudicial effect. P. 318.
5. The public interest requires that litigation be fairly and impartially conducted, and it is the duty of the court to protect suitors in their rights to a verdict uninfluenced by the appeals of counsel to passion and prejudice. P. 318.
6. Failure of counsel to particularize an exception will not preclude the court from correcting error in a case involving a verdict influenced by passion or prejudice. P. 318.
7. In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for personal injuries, the repeated assertion by plaintiff’s counsel, without supporting evidence, that the defense was a "claim agent defense;" references to defendant as an "eastern railroad," and statements that the railroad had "come into this town" and that witnesses and records had been "sent on from New York" for the trial of the cause, all tending to create an atmosphere of hostility toward the defendant as a railroad company located in another section of the country, should have been condemned as an improper appeal to sectional or local prejudice. P. 319.
8. It is the duty of counsel presenting cases to this Court to be adequately prepared and to be fair and candid in the argument. P. 319.
27 F.2d 699 reversed.
Writs of certiorari, 278 U.S. 590, to the circuit court of appeals to review a decision affirming judgments against the petitioner on causes of action arising out of the alleged negligent operation of one of its trains. The cases had been removed from a state court to the district court upon the ground of diversity of citizenship.