A
witness is defined as anyone who can present evidence in a case
("Witness," West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd. ed.). In
Harper Lee's , Tom Robinson's trial was extremely unusual due to
lack of evidence and the fact that only two out of four people who
testified at the trial can genuinely be considered witnesses,
though the plaintiff and the defendant of a case certainly can testify as
witnesses.
In the case, Mayella Ewell is
considered the plaintiff, the person who is accusing another of
wrongdoing. Tom Robinson is considered the
defendant, the person who is being accused of a crime or offense
and is denying involvement (West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2nd. ed.).
Both the plaintiff and the defendant certainly can serve as
witnesses by taking the witness stand to state their own testimonies of what
occurred; however, their testimonies are given less weight than the testimonies of actual
witnesses, and the burden of proof always rests on the plaintiff. In other words, it would have
been Mayella's responsibility to prove the crime actually took place, and her own
testimony alone would not serve as proof. In the
case, both Mayella and Robinson served as witnesses by taking the stand. While it is more common
for plaintiffs to take the witness stand, it is less common for defendants to take the witness
stand, and defendants are Constitutionally protected from having to do so. Often, a defense
lawyer will not call a defendant to the witness stand should he/she say something that damages
the case under cross-examination by the prosecuting attorney. However, in this case,felt he had
no witness to call other than Robinson himself.
One key
witness in the trial is Sheriff Heck Tate, who
testifies having seen Mayella looking very beaten up. Sheriff Tate gives two crucial statements
that give Atticus grounds to motion to dismiss the case, a motion
he sadly does not make. Sheriff's first crucial statement is that a doctor was not summoned to
examine Mayella on the evening in question. Sheriff Tate states the following to Atticus in
defense of having not called a doctor:
It wasn't
necessary, Mr. Finch. She was mighty banged up. Something sho' happened, it was obvious. (Ch.
16)
However, Mayella isn't just accusing Robinson of
having abused her; she is accusing him of having raped her, and based on the principle
corpus delicti, meaning body of the crime, it is illegal to try a defendant
without concrete evidence that the crime actually took place. A doctor's testimony would be
essential for Mayella's proof, and without such proof, the case could have legally been
dismissed. The second crucial statement Sheriff Tate makes is that Mayella was bruised in her
right eye, which could have only been accomplished by a left-handed person facing her. Since
Robinson is crippled in his left arm and hand, this second statement of Sherrif Tate's also
gives Atticus grounds to motion to dismiss the case, which he sadly
does not do.
Last, Bob Ewell, Mayella's father,
serves as the only eyewitness in the trial. He testifies hearing
Mayella scream inside the house and running up to the window to see "that black nigger
yonder ruttin' on my Mayella" (Ch. 16). However, Ewell's testimony is later
contradicted by Mayella's own testimony, in which says she saw her father
"standing over [her] hollerin' who done it, who done it?" (Ch. 18). If Ewell had truly
witnessed the event, he would have had no reason to ask Mayella who the culprit was, which helps
to expose the Ewells' lies.
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