The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 104, July 2000 - April, 2001 Page: 45
673 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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"The Trial of a juror"
how careful I was with my answers, that some time during my examination I
would become mixed-up or confused over some legal technicality that would dis-
qualify me as a juror on the case.'
As the court reconvened, Mr. Causey clung to the hope that his con-
nection to the notorious case would soon be over:
As I was seated in the witness box, I remember thinking that my three-and-one-
half days waiting were up. If I were lucky in an hour or two at the most, I would
certainly be found unacceptable as a juror and dismissed to return home to my
family. The defense counsel who questioned me was, as I had feared, Mr. Belli.
However, it was not as bad as I had feared. I was not too ill at ease under his
questioning. He was courteous, charming and eloquently smooth. The question-
ing was thorough and deliberate. He asked me about my knowledge of the Os-
wald shooting, what I had read, had I seen it on TV? I told him that I had viewed
the TV rerun of the shooting.8
The defense was not ready to accept the idea that Judge Brown would
allow television viewers who saw the shooting of Mr. Oswald to serve as
jurors. Belli and his team wanted all television viewers of the crime to be
declared as witnesses, which would make them unqualified under Texas
law to serve as jurors. The prosecution was equally determined that tele-
vision viewers not be disqualified. Judge Brown disallowed the gambit.9
Mr. Belli closely questioned Mr. Causey about his impressions of the TV
replay:
Mr. Belli: Now, will you tell us what you remember, what you saw on video, the
shooting?
Mr. Causey: Well, about the only thing that I can recall was that I saw a person's
back, it seemed to jump or hurdle some obstruction, some restriction.
Mr. Belli: Well, I put it to you, sir, and ask you if it wasn't true, this man didn't
hurdle or jump, that this man ...
(Prosecution attorney) Mr.Jim Bowie: To which we object.
Judge Brown: Sustain the objection to it.
Mr. Belli: Your honor, I think that this pointed up precisely that as a witness, I
would have to cross examine him, because that's not what we intend to prove,
that a man hurdled or went ahead so abruptly to shoot someone else. (To Mr.
Causey) Do you believe that someone hurdled something to shoot someone
else?
Mr. Bowie: To which we object, your honor. This is no test for the qualifying of a
juror.
Judge Brown: All right.
SIbid., 4.
8 Ibid., 5.
9 Stan Weinberg and Jerry Richmond, "All On Jury Panel Who Saw Slaying Facing Subpoe-
nas," Dallas Times Herald, Feb. 19, 1964, p. I-A.2000
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 104, July 2000 - April, 2001, periodical, 2001; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101221/m1/73/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.