Smith and the judge colluded to stage favorable testimony for Moses

Evidence

Smith’s appearance marked the “first time in a generation, probably longer, that a chief executive of the state has appeared in court in the role of a witness.” Platoons of reporters followed the Governor as he, Moses and Mrs. Moskowitz boarded a Long Island Rail Road train for the three-hour trip to Riverhead. At the station, he was met by an American Legion band which played “The Sidewalks of New York” as it accompanied him to the courthouse. There, he was escorted to the chambers of Justice James A. Dunne. The Governor talked with Dunne in private and then the judge escorted him into the courtroom so that he could give his testimony—he was on the stand for only fifteen minutes, spent most of the time recounting the Biltmore hearing and was not cross-examined—and as soon as he stepped off the stand, the judge adjourned court. The Governor joined him in his chambers for lunch. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 943

Categorization

• CANDY: The spectacle of a governor and judge conferring privately, then the judge escorting the witness in for a short uncontested testimony before sharing lunch — the whole choreography signals the fix being in. A vivid, narratively complete anecdote.
• XREF: Theatrical staging of public authority to sanctify Moses’ cause parallels the earlier Biltmore hearing theater and the recurring pattern of Moses using stage-managed events to override legal obstacles — connects to the book’s running theme. — connects to: Moses staged the hearing to humiliate rather than merely defeat Lindsay. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 4572

Broader Connections

• Moses staged the hearing to humiliate rather than merely defeat Lindsay. #corroborates (0.75) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 4572