Sycamore Row - John Grisham

this?’ However, it is not your responsibility to ask that question. Seth did what he did for
reasons known only to him. Again, he made the money—it all belonged to him. He
could have given every penny to the Red Cross, or to some slick televangelist, or to the
Communist Party. That’s his business, not yours, not mine, not this court’s.
“Instead of leaving his money to his family, Seth left 5 percent to his church, 5 percent
to a long-lost brother, and the remaining 90 percent was given to a woman by the name
of Lettie Lang. Ms. Lang is sitting right here between me and Mr. Lundy. She worked for
Seth Hubbard for three years as his housekeeper, his cook, and sometimes his nurse.
Again, the obvious question is, Why? Why did Seth cut out his family and leave almost
everything to a woman he’d known for such a short period of time? Believe me, ladies
and gentlemen, that is the greatest question I’ve ever confronted as a lawyer. That
question has been asked by me, by the other lawyers, by the Hubbard family, by Lettie
Lang herself, by friends and neighbors, and by virtually everyone in this county who’s
heard the story. Why?
“The truth is that we’ll never know. Only Seth knew and he’s no longer with us. The
truth, folks, is that it’s none of our business. We—the lawyers, the judge, you the jurors
—are not supposed to concern ourselves with why Seth did what he did. Your job, as I’ve
said, is to decide only one important issue, and that is simply this: At the time Seth
wrote his last will, was he thinking clearly and did he know what he was doing?
“He was, and he did. The evidence will be clear and convincing.”
Jake paused and picked up a glass of water. He took a quick sip, and as he did so he
scanned the crowded courtroom. On the second row, Harry Rex stared at him. He
nodded quickly. You’re doing fine so far. You have their attention. Wrap it up.
Jake returned to the podium, glanced at his notes, and continued: “Now, with this
much money on the line, we can expect things to get somewhat tense over the next few
days. The family of Seth Hubbard is contesting the handwritten will, and they are not to
be faulted for this. They sincerely believe the money should have been given to them,
and they’ve hired a bunch of good lawyers to attack the handwritten will. They claim
that Seth lacked testamentary capacity. They claim his judgment was clouded. They
claim he was unduly influenced by Lettie Lang. The term ‘undue influence’ is a legal
term and will be crucial in this case. They will attempt to convince you that Lettie Lang
used her position as a caregiver to become intimate with Seth Hubbard. Intimacy can
mean many things. She cared for Seth, at times bathed him, changed his clothes, cleaned
up behind him, did all the things that caregivers are supposed to do in those delicate and
awful situations. Seth was a dying old man, hit with a debilitating and deadly cancer
that left him weak and feeble.”
Jake turned and looked at Wade Lanier and the gang of lawyers at the other table.
“They will imply a lot, ladies and gentlemen, but they can prove nothing. There were no
physical relations between Seth Hubbard and Lettie Lang. Only hints, and suggestions,
and implications, but no proof because it never happened.”
Jake tossed his legal pad on his table and wrapped it up. “This will be a short trial
with a lot of witnesses. As in every trial, the issues at times might become confusing.
This is often done on purpose by the lawyers, but don’t be led astray. Remember, ladies