Like a Glass Slipper on a Stepsister: How the One Ring Rules Them All at Trial

• Publication year: 2021
• Citation: Vol. 91

91 Nebraska L. Rev. 600. LIKE A GLASS SLIPPER ON A STEPSISTER: HOW THE ONE RING RULES THEM ALL AT TRIAL

LIKE A GLASS SLIPPER ON A STEPSISTER: HOW THE ONE RING RULES THEM ALL AT TRIAL

Cathren Koehlert-Page(fn*)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction.......................................... 601

II. Reasons for Using Endowed Objects................... 605
A. In Fiction ......................................... 606
B. InLaw............................................ 611

III. Explanation and Definition of Endowed Objects........ 612
A. Endowed Objects as Categories of Symbols......... 612

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1.The Difference Between General Metaphors and Endowed Objects.............................. 613
2.The Difference Between Metonyms and Endowed Objects .............................. 616
a. Endowed Object Metonyms in Fiction....... 617
b. Endowed Object Metonyms in Law......... 619
3. The Difference Between Objective Correlative and Endowed Objects.......................... 620
a. In Fiction .................................. 621
b. In Law .................................... 622
4. Endowed Objects' Relationship to Obtuse Objects........................................624
a. In Fiction..................................625
b. In Law ....................................626
B. How an Object Becomes Endowed .................627

IV.The Process of Locating and Creating Endowed Objects ............................................... 629
A. The Writer's Process .............................. 629
B. The Lawyer's Process .............................. 636

V.Endowed Objects and Theme and Theory .............. 640
A.Endowed Objects and Fiction Themes .............. 641
B.Endowed Objects and Theory of the Case .......... 645

VI. Endowed Objects and Character....................... 646
A. Fiction Character ................................. 646
B. Endowed Objects and Witness or Party Character.. 646

Vll. Endowed Objects and Story Structure................. 647
A.Fiction Structure.................................. 647
B.Structure at Trial ................................. 651

Vlll. Endowed Objects Used Against the Proponent......... 658
A.Endowed Object Turned Against the Object's Proponent in Fiction............................... 658
B.Endowed Object Turned Against the Proponent at Trial .............................................. 659

lX. Ethical Concerns...................................... 662

X. Conclusion............................................ 665

I. INTRODUCTION

lt's dark out. The clock ticks. Time is running out. Sneaking in seemed like a good idea. But the sneak was not supposed to be there. There's no more time. Hurry! Leave Now! The sneak runs. A single clothing accessory slips loose. ln the aftermath, searchers arrive on the scene. All of them ask the same question. Who was that person? Where has this mysterious person gone? They comb the scene. They find the accessory. Perhaps it will lead to their missing person. So they ask questions. They develop a list of people to whom it might

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belong. One of them tries it on. But it doesn't fit. Then the moment arrives. The sneak slips the accessory on. It fits. They have found their missing person, or perhaps not.

The story above could be Cinderella.(fn1) Then again, it has elements of the trial of Lincoln assassination conspirator, Dr. Samuel Mudd.(fn2) It has a few elements of the murder trial for O.J. Simpson, whom the defense cast as Cinderella's stepsister.(fn3) These are just a couple of examples from more famous trials involving a piece of evidence that served as an "endowed object" in the trial narrative.

Material items appear in both our literature and our cases.(fn4) If attorneys sift through the physical evidence, they can often find the One Ring, the glass slipper, or the holy grail. In literature, these items are known as endowed objects.(fn5) These objects appear throughout celebrated fiction works such as The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz,

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and Cinderella. ln The Lord of the Rings, one single magic ring rises up above all the other magic rings to "rule them all." The ring rules not just the other rings but all of the characters, the story itself, and the readers.

Trial attorneys can learn techniques that fiction writers have been using successfully for centuries and endow a single object to "rule them all." ln fact, there is a growing field of legal scholarship, known as Applied Legal Storytelling, which involves applying storytelling concepts to legal concepts, and some evidence suggests that juries are responsive to narrative framework.(fn6) Thus trial attorneys can use the literary concept of endowed objects to identify a key piece of physical evidence that weaves a thread of narrative continuity through the case and resonates in the mind of the judge or juror.

An endowed object is a material object that reverberates with symbolic significance throughout the story.(fn7) lt creates narrative cohesion, and, at trial, it can work well as a transition or a reminder of previous testimony.(fn8) These symbols speak to the subconscious mind and evoke an emotional response.(fn9) They develop a character.(fn10) An endowed object assumes an importance larger than itself through the characters who interact with it;(fn11) indeed in ancient times, objects themselves could be accused of crimes.(fn12) Some critics say that the object should be something that people can hold in their hands and that the object should be touched or invoked three times to be endowed.(fn13) Finally,

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although endowed objects are always symbolic,(fn14) in fiction they can be ordinary objects without any magical powers, like a baseball bat.(fn15)Trial attorneys who learn to recognize endowed objects and their traits can invoke their power at trial.

Endowed objects have been persuasive symbols in famous trials as well although the attorneys trying the case may not have realized they were creating endowed objects.(fn16) In well-known trial narratives, endowed objects include the blue dress in the Bill Clinton impeachment hearings, the Lindbergh ladder, and the glove in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.(fn17)

These endowed objects will naturally weave their way into a trial narrative.(fn18) By developing awareness of them, lawyers can "edit" their trial narrative to invoke the persuasive power of these objects.(fn19)In so doing, lawyers must link the evidence to the theory of the case and ensure that the object is relevant.(fn20) Further, attorneys must also consider how the same evidence can be turned against them. For ex

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ample, if the prosecution in the O.J. Simpson case had taken notes from Othello, they might have seen how the handkerchief was turned against its proponent, lago.(fn21) lnstead, the leather glove in the O.J. Simpson case was similarly turned against the prosecution.(fn22)

This article will present the literary concept of endowed objects, provide examples of endowed objects in literature, provide examples of endowed objects in trials, and then discuss how attorneys can identify and use evidence to create an endowed object. Part ll of this article explains why endowed objects are useful at trial. Part lll defines endowed objects, explains the similarities and differences between endowed objects and other symbols, and illustrates the use of both in fiction and at trial. Part lV describes the process of endowing an object in both fiction narratives and legal narratives. Part V discusses how endowed objects can develop a theme in fiction and theory of the case at trial. Part Vl discusses how endowed objects can create a structural through-line in story structure in fiction and litigation. Part Vll discusses how endowed objects can develop character in both fiction and litigation. Part Vlll gives examples of endowed objects turned against their proponent in fiction and at trial. And finally, Part lX discusses the ethical issues surrounding endowed objects in litigation.

ll. REASONS FOR USlNG ENDOWED OBJECTS

A single item can help to build a story's structure, theme, character, and emotion.(fn23) ln fact, since a trial is a story that is told witness by witness rather than chronologically, trial attorneys have an even greater need of some means to tie each of those non-chronological mini-stories.(fn24) Professor Stefan Krieger and Clinic Fellow Reza Rezvani discussed this non-chronological format at the Applied Legal Storytelling conference in Denver at Sturm College when presenting

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their project involving the use of movie storyboarding techniques to plan a trial and create a good trial narrative.(fn25)

During their presentation, Professor Hugo De Rijke from the University of Plymouth, England, asked, "Given that trial proceeds witness by witness, how do you divide the story into acts?"(fn26) Professor Krieger explained that each witness will have his or her own acts one through three and that those will fit into the larger whole.(fn27) Given that format, it is helpful to have a symbolic mechanism of jogging the judge or jury's memory of the previous Act One when a new witness returns to Act One again. An endowed object can trigger the memory of a previous portion of the story in a deep and emotive way.(fn28) Moreover, the object often works overtime to provide readers with a host of information.

A. In Fiction

National Book Award nominee and...