 and the producer of radio's outstanding theatre of thrills, a master of mystery and adventure, William M. Robeson. Miss Nancy Kelly stars in trial by jury. The sheriff has escorted me down the jail card in person as though I were a VIP. Well, I am now. The cops and bailiffs and wardens and lawyers and judges too. All of this city, Hilda Warren is the name to conjure with. Hilda Warren is the top criminal lawyer in the state. For a woman, that means you've got to be twice as good as any man, and I am. So, number nine was the last on the right. The man inside lying in the bunk with his feet up against the wall, reading the newspaper and smoking a cigarette. That was my first fight of Tommy Esterman. He was taking things pretty easy for a man accused of murder. Hey, Miss Warren, we'll take all the time you want. Well, thank you, Sheriff. Just holler when you want out. I will. Well, you took long enough getting here. Your Mr. Esterman? Tommy, my friend's called me. Your Mr. Esterman? Better call me Tommy too, we'll get along better that way. All right, Tommy. But we're not going to get along unless you and I get a couple things straight and right now. Sure, like what? Like you're not doing any favors hiring me to hand you a case because you're not. You're lucky to get me. You understand? Yeah, yeah, I understand. And the second thing is that I'm not in this for my health. I want a power of attorney over everything you've got and I'm taking half. Half? That's right, about $10,000, isn't it? About? Well? That's pretty steep, it's a lot of dough. Oh, the dough in the world won't do you any good in the death house. Go on. So, I want to know the truth. All of it. Meaning I gotta trust you, huh? Don't you? How do you know you can trust me? I trust you? Sure. Wouldn't look too good if it ever came out you were defending somebody you knew for a fact was guilty, would it? Well, you let me worry about that. Now, what's your story? How much do you know? Only what I read in the papers. I know you came out here from the east a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and by the way, have you ever had any trouble with the law, Becky? No, I've been lucky. Where'd you get the money? An uncle left me about five grand when he died about a year ago. I ran it up to twenty. Gambling? Mostly. Oh, in other words, you're a professional. No, no, no. No, I'm a businessman. I invest in things, anything. I decided to run the five grand up to twenty and then come out here and start a place of my own. And did you? I didn't have a chance. I came out here to look things over, see? I went out to this place in the valley, Renzo's place. It took me for my role. I didn't realize the game was crooked until after I left. I just started to think about it. So I went back. Hmm, they get your money. Yeah. I mean, you held a gun on Renzo for it. I got the money. The police say that you shot him in cold blood. They say they've got witnesses. Listen, there was so much hollering and running around and shooting, I bet you can get a dozen witnesses who think I was shooting if the guy who took the money. But that isn't what I asked you. I asked if you had killed him. Oh, this is where I have to trust you. That's right. All right, sure. Sure, I killed him. I'd gotten all I wanted for the moment, so I left. Downstairs, I ran into S. Andrew Williams, Sandy Williams, the district attorney. But Sandy was a very nice guy who kept proposing to me with monotonous regularity, in whom I kept defeating in court with the same regularity. He was awfully stuffy about his ethics. It was a sore point between us. Down here on business, Hilda? I'm going to defend Tommy Estamans. Oh? Is there anything wrong with that? No. Are you going to handle the prosecution? Somebody in our office will, of course. Listen, Hilda. Yes? He's guilty. You know that, don't you? If he is, you're going to have to prove it. We will, because we know he's guilty. And that's for the jury to decide, isn't it, Sandy? Every trial of mine is a show, but Tommy Estamans was a spectacular. I got character witnesses from Tommy's hometown to prove what a good boy he'd always been. I showed him as a Jewish-eyed young businessman who come west with his life savings to make good, only to be taken over the hurdles by an unscrupulous crook. I made Sandy Williams in the DA's office with practically half-witted, that ain't brought the case to trial at all. I was sure it was in the bag, and I was right. The jury was out in less than an hour. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict? Your Honor, we have. I'll find you the defendant, Thomas Estamans. Guilty or not guilty? Not guilty. That night, Tommy invited me to help him celebrate his acquittal. Well, I don't usually mix business with pleasure, but Tommy was attractive in his cynical, arsonist way. And it wasn't too difficult to forget that I was sitting across the table from a murderer. Maybe I should have remembered, but I didn't. How does it feel to be a free man, Tommy? Pretty good. If it didn't cost so much. Oh, of course. You're a very lucky boy, no matter what the cost. By the way, here's the power of attorney you gave me. I won't need it anymore. Thanks. You did collect your fee first, I suppose. Mm-hmm. And even $10,000. Yeah. It's a good thing I held out a little. You what? Sure, I got a little more stashed away. When I shot Renzo, I didn't stop to count the dough to get just what was mine. I just grabbed what there was. It was about 50 grand. I told you not to lie to me. I suppose that had come out in a trial. How could it? Nobody knew how much was there except Renzo, and he wasn't doing any talking. And this is a poor young businessman who they're taking for a life saving. Just a plain ordinary sicko. What's the difference? You got me off anyway, wouldn't you? Yeah, I suppose I was. You got me wrong, Heldit, like I told you. I'm just a businessman. When I invest money, I get it back with interest always. Which reminds me, if you stick all your clients like you stuck me, you must do all right yourself, huh? I get along. Yeah, about 75 grand last year, wasn't it? How do you know? You can find those things out. You see, I've invested in you too, Heldit. You've invested in me. Yeah, and I've been thinking you ought to have a partner. Oh, well, what do you know about the law? Wasn't thinking about a law partnership. Oh, what? I was thinking you and I ought to get married. Oh, no. Oh, no, Tommy. Thanks, but that's out of the question. Thank you, Audrey. Consider, Heldit. It may not be much of a proposal, but it's a pretty good proposition. Sir, not from where I sit. I wouldn't be too sure about that. But look at it from my point of view first. It would be a good way of getting back my investment with interest, considering the community property laws in this state. That way, I could really set myself up right. And now look at it from your point of view, see. Your practice is worth 75 grand a year. Suppose you lost it. Suppose you were disbarmed. All right, Tommy. All right. Let's have it. Suppose. I'd given the sheriff a sealed envelope with a full confession. Suppose I'd said in that confession that you had a copy. Could you prove you hadn't? You're kidding. But I did. You said it would take documentary evidence, remember? Something in writing to prove you were defending a man you knew was guilty. Now, uh, I just, I told the sheriff not to open that envelope until I tell him to. But Dave, I knew you. Oh, Hilda. You know better than that. Now you know they can't try a man twice for the same crime. Oh, you're confessing to killing a man. What's the difference? In my business, it doesn't hurt your reputation to have killed a man. It helps it. No, I'm in the clear, Hilda. You're sort of over about. But uh, marriage to you, I know. Don't take it too hard. You can get a divorce after a year or so. It's, uh, things are breaking for me the way I think they are. No, listen, you've got to, you're going to have to give me time to think about it. I know. You're too fast on your feet, Hilda. You can check with the sheriff if you want to. Oh no, no, I believe you. Well, hello, you two. Oh, uh. Celebrating? Uh, hello, Sandy. I guess I was a little miffed in court today, Hilda. And I should have congratulated you. You did a swell job. So, congratulations to both of you. Hey, Sandy. Well, long as you feel like that, Mr. District Attorney, you can congratulate us twice. Twice? Yeah. Hilda has just consented to become Mrs. Tommy Estaman. Oh, congratulations. I think it was right then, Sandy standing there at the table with that sickly smile on his face. I think it was right then that I decided how Tommy Estaman was going to die. And so I decided that Tommy Estaman would have to die. And then I married him. He didn't bother me. He'd only married me for the money he could squeeze out of me. And in spite of all the big talk about starting his own business, of course he didn't. Then he hit a streak of bad luck and began losing money, a lot of his and some of mine. But all that was fine. I even encouraged it because I knew that this was the kind of thing that someday was going to give me my chance. And it came about six months later. Tommy had heard about a big no-limit poker game in one of the downtown hotels with a lot of eastern money behind it, and he wanted to get some of it. I went with him. There were five men seated around the table, and any one of them looked mean enough to rob the church poor box on Christmas Eve. I could see it was going to be a rough game. That was what I wanted. Estimus, huh? Call me Estimus. That's right. And who's the dang? The lady. My wife. Oh. You play too, Miss Estimus. No, I don't. All right. You know what the stakes are? No limit. Dealers' choice draw or start a nothing wild. Okay. Okay. Harry. Given chips. Sure. How much you want, Mr. Estimus? Give me a thousand. A thousand may not last you too long in this game, Mr. Estimus. That's what I came down to find out. Deal them. They played silently and with a deadly intensity. I was breaking about even, but Tommy was losing consistently. One after another three of the men dropped out until there were only ourselves and Frank and the other one called Harry. I made an excuse to get a glass of water. I went in the next room and switched the gun that Tommy always carried from his overcoat pocket into my handbag. When I got back, Tommy was still losing and his face said he didn't like it. It's a matter, Mr. Estimus. You all like the cards we're giving you? Never mind what I like. Deal them. How many you want, Harry? Give me three. Is this the one? No, I'm out. And how about you? One card. Well, we'll deal with the next one. Huh? Who bets? A hundred. I'm out. I raise you to five. And five more to you. And five. All right, there it is. The work. You know, you got maybe two grand out there, Mr. Estimus. I know what I got out there. You're going to see it or just talk? Money, sir. What do you got? Straight jack high. No good. Stenzo. Of course. That's all. Let's go, Helden. You quit? You heard me. Just a minute, Mr. Estimus. Just a minute. You got a little tab here. I know I got a tab. I'm good. Seven thousand five hundred and sixty bucks to be exact. We'll call it an even seven and a half grant. And we want it now. I told you I'm good for it. I don't happen to have it with me. That's no good, Estimus. We want the money now. Will my personal check be all right? You don't have to do that, Helden. Yeah, I guess so. I'd rather, Tommy. Thank you. You know, lucky you got a script to get behind, Estimus. You're going to make a crack like that again. I'll kill you. I couldn't have ordered it better. Tommy was feeling the way all gamblers feel when they've lost and made a fool of themselves. He didn't say anything all the way home. Helden, hang up your coat. Okay. Hey, my gun's gone. Your gun? Yeah, I had it in my overcoat inside. It's gone. Well, it must have slipped out on the floor down there at the hotel. Yeah, maybe it did. Well, don't worry about it. Come on, I'll make some coffee. Yeah, but I don't like the idea. Guns registered in my name just floating around in your place. All right. So you can go downtown tomorrow and get it, can't you? Huh? Yeah, sure. I can go downtown tomorrow. That's right, Tommy. Tomorrow. I gave him some coffee and pretty soon we went to bed. I knew after what I'd put in that coffee that an earthquake wouldn't wake him, but I listened outside his door for a while anyway until I was sure. And then I started back downtown. It was a long climb up the back stairs of the hotel, but I had to make certain that I wasn't seen. It must have been about 3.30 when I knocked on the door. Frank! Frank! Are you alone? Yeah. What is it? Mrs. Esterman. What do you want? A hand. I forget. No, not exactly. Hey. What is this? No, no. I'm afraid you're just another innocent victim of circumstances. Frank. Oh, no, no, wait a minute. You've gone on the floor and left. And when I got home, I took a fetish of myself. I looked up at his morning. And the doorbell was ringing like mad. I went down to answer it. It was Sandy Ruins. Hello, Hilda. Oh, Sandy, what? Oh, strange time to call. Come on, come on, come on. Hilda, I wanted to tell you myself. Tell me what? I've got some bad news. Sandy, what is it? A man named Frank Penrose, a gambler, was killed last night at downtown hotel. Frank Penrose? Yes, witnesses have placed you and your husband on the premises during the evening. Well, yes, we were there, but... He was cured with Tommy's gun. No. Oh, no, Sandy, it couldn't... I'm sorry, Hilda, but all these things... points to us. We're going to have to charge him. Hey, what's going on here? No, hello, William. Tommy, Frank Penrose has been killed. They found your gun. What? I know you're innocent. You've got nothing to worry about, Tommy. Would you mind if I talk to my wife in private for a minute? Come in here, will you, Hilda? Now, Tommy, just don't say anything in front of him. Don't worry. Hilda, I beat the rap for one I did do. Now they got me for one I didn't do. But that hasn't got you, Tommy. It's also consensual. I can prove your alibi myself. You were at home with me. Look, baby, it's a mess. I don't want you to get into it. But why? Because everything's different now. What are you talking about? Don't laugh, Hilda. I guess it's... I'm falling in love with you. Oh, Tommy. Funny, isn't it, huh? I know I've given you a pretty bad time. It's a mess. But at least I can keep you out of this. I mean, don't be crazy. It's a mess. Stay out of it. It'll do you lots more harm than good. You're my wife. They can't make you testify. But I want to testify. No, we'll get somebody else to defend me. No, no, Tommy, I won't let anybody else defend you. I couldn't let anyone else defend him. I was in too deep now to let anyone else near it, even if I wanted to. And I didn't want to. I didn't trust Tony Estim in his room. I was going through with it on schedule. The papers played the case where it was worth two or three extras a day with gushy headlines like modern Porsche fights for life of mace. And he wouldn't have presented his witnesses one after the other carefully and methodically and the case against Tommy looked worse and worse. But, naturally, everyone expected me to pull some sort of surprise out of the hat when it came my turn. I did. The prosecution rests. Very well. Is counsel for the defense prepared to call her witnesses at this time? Well, the defense will call only one witness, Your Honor. Very well. Is your witness present in the court? She is, Your Honor. The witness is myself. I told a perfectly straight story. That is, it looked like a perfectly straight story. A woman telling the truth as she knew it in defense of the man she loved. I could see the jury lapping up every word of it. When I was finished, I got up for my chair and started to leave the stand, and then it happened. The thing I'd counted on all these many months, the thing that I knew must happen. Just a moment, please, Mrs. Esterman. Yes? I'd like to ask you a few questions. Oh, well... Just a minute, Your Honor. Order, please. Does the defendant wish to address the court? Yes, Your Honor. A wife couldn't be made to testify against her husband. A wife cannot be forced to testify against her husband, Mr. Esterman. But once she has volunteered to testify, she is, of course, subject to cross-examination. Oh, you are prepared for such cross-examination, of course, Mrs. Esterman. Yes? Yes, of course. Now, Mrs. Esterman, you have testified that on the night Frank Penrose was murdered. You returned from his room at the hotel laying cards and arrived at your home a little after two. Is that correct? Yes. And then somewhere in the neighborhood of 230 or quarter to three, you and your husband retired. What? Tell me, Mrs. Esterman, did you sleep well that night? Yes. You and your husband sleep in the same room or in separate rooms? In separate rooms. Then how can you say positively that your husband did not leave the house at the hotel, kill Frank Penrose and return home without your knowledge? Well, I... Remember, Mrs. Esterman, you are under oath. Can you swear that your husband did not leave the house at any time that night after he had retired? Can you? Answer yes or no? Uh... No. You cannot swear that he didn't leave the house. Now, just one more question, Mrs. Esterman. You have admitted that your husband had a slight quarrel with Frank Penrose. Is that not true? Yes. What did your husband say to him? I... I'm not sure. You heard what another witness testified to. Did he say those words or didn't he? Yes. And what were those words? What were they, Mrs. Esterman? Well... The next time... I'll kill you. I did it. I've been thrown to life and is laid before to admit both the opportunity and the motive that we really did it. And all I had to do now is to wait for the verdict. Found the Esterman who was as good as in the gas chamber right now. And we waited for the jury, one hour, two. And then they filed back into the courtroom and we were standing on our feet to hear the verdict. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached the verdict? We have. I'll find you the defendant, Thomas Esterman. Guilty or not guilty? Not guilty. I'm sorry, Thomas. It couldn't have happened. It had. And then everybody was crowding around me with a quarter. The jury was the foreman of the jury herself coming up to congratulate me. Can you tell us how you feel, Mrs. Esterman? Did you know all the time you were going to win this case? Is your woman's intuition... All right, all right, boys. Please, please. Not now. Maybe later. Mrs. Esterman, I'm the defendant. I suppose I should say for a woman of the jury. Oh, yes. I just wanted you to know how happy I am that some of us way, this is the way the others, that your husband was innocent. As I told them, I knew. I simply knew that a woman fighting for the life of the man she loved couldn't be wrong. Thank you. Thank you very much. Finally, we got out of the courtroom. Who didn't say anything all the way home, not until we got inside the house. I suppose I knew it was coming by now and anything I didn't know was how. Well, you did your best anyway. I bungled it, Tommy. You did your best to frame me. Oh, Tommy, no. No, you're too smart to fall for a craft like that, baby. You didn't bungle it. You worked it just right. Only thing you forgot to bribe the jury, that's all. You're free. They can't try you again. No, but they can try you. Me? Who else could have killed them? Tommy. What are you doing? I'm phoning your friend, the district attorney. I guess I'll have to collect my investment in you a little different way. Yes. All right. I suppose so. All right, Tommy. There's always this way. You better come out, Sandy. I just killed him. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict? Your Honor, we have. I find you the defendant held away an estimate. Guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Kelly starred in William and Robson's production of Trial by Jury with Kenny Delmar as Tommy Esterman. Listen. Listen again next week when we bring you another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. Miss Kelly and Mr. Delmar in Trial by Jury were Shirley Mitchell, Lauren Stubbkin, Byron Kane, Parley Bear, and Jerry Hausner.