Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-01-30
CONTEMPT IN MISREPRESENTATION
LEONARD FOIIRD

barred the privilege OF voting. Inc vote stooo
IS 10 30 and was announced amid great excite
ment and applause.
CONTEMPT IN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
LEONARD FOILRD
We have heretofore noted this fact that
J. J. DuGose and John Somerville had
been fned and imprisoned by Judge
Leonard, Of the County Court Of Shelby,
for alleged contempt of court Mr.. Du-
Bose applied to Judge Pierce, Of the Law
Court, for the writ Of kdbeds c5rptfs, al
lsging that he was unlawfnlly imprisoned,
in pursuance of the order of Judge Leon
ard, On a Judgment for contempt, and
which was claimed to bean Illegal and
unauthorized process. The writ was
granted, the prisoner produced in court,
the case fnlly argued, and on the 9th
inst, Judge Pierce submitted lengthy
written opinion discharging Mr.. DuBose
from custody The principal points of
the decision were first, that the process
from the County Court by which the peti-
toner had been committed to jail,
did not run in the name of the State
Of Tennessee, as required by the
constitution, and was, therefore, void !;
second, that by section 4l06 of
the Code, the power Of the several courts
of the State to issue attachments for com
tempts, was limited to the cases therein
specified and TO other acts or omissions
declared contempts by law, which section
must be construed as referring TO statu1
tory and not to common law, and as the
case in point did not come within any
provision Of the statutes, Che arrest was
therefore illegal third, the power of the
County Court to punish for contempt Tex
cept when the contempt consists in the
omission to perform an act ordered, or in
the performance Of a forbidden act) is
| limited TO the in1iction of fine of ten
dollars and imprisonment not exceeding
ten days Under this decision Mr.
Somerville was also discharged The
Memphis Avalanche refers to Judge
Pierces decision as follows
"a Faithful among the faithless, one man
has been found in our midst. We allude
to Hon. j. o. Pierce, Judge Of the Law
Court of this city. Judge Pierce is a
Radical but he has some regard for his
reputation as lawyer and the oath he has
taken to support The constitutions of his
country and yesterday he lifted himself
high above party prejudice, arose in all the
sublime majesty Of an honest man, and
| conscientious, upright Judge, and kicked
10 the dogs the contemplate contempt
cases which q still IA Dre contemplate Judge
had forced before the courts Of the city. 1t
affords us pleasure 20 do iustice 10 politi-
cal opponent, thoroughly imbued with all
the vagaries Of his party. If Radical
office.holders generally would manifest the
same regard for right and Justice, the con-
stitution and the Law, as the broken bone
we'll set usually becomes stronger than be-
fore, 10 would the Union become stronger
by the recent war, and our people cemented
| together inthe indissoluble bonds Of a homoN
geneous race. We congratulate Mr. Du-
Bose on the triumph Of the law in his case,
and his victory over the miserable creature
who would prostitute mis- Office as the me-
| dunn through which to agenge a malignity
men of courage would scorn. Mr.. DuBose
has made a gallant fight with tyranny, and
he has his reward in the plaudits Of a COM
munity whose liberties were involved in
the war he nobly fought and proudly won."
Both DuBose and Somerville have en-
tered suit against Judge Leonard to re-
cover damages for false imprisonment,
and The Judge may yet be taught that
eyeniin Tennessee, under Radical rule.
he cannot prostitute his Judicial Office to
the work Of redressing bis private griefs.
The Apatanche Of the 18th inst, an
nounces that the editorial rooms of chat
paper will in few days "be temporarily
removed to the county jail in Memphis.
This announcement is made under the
impression that the editors Of that paper
will be imprisoned by Judge Hunter, Of
the Criminal Court, for contempt Judge
Hunter has already issued about dozen
attachments against the editors of the
Asdldache for contempt and it seems TO
be pretty well understood that they are
to be imprisoned for the contempt they
entertain for Hunter, both as a Judge
and man In the decision in the case
Of Mr. DuBose, Judge Hunter ought TO
see the termination OF the farce he has
been playing 1t is timethese outrageous
acts of a tyrannical Judge were stopped
They are a Disgrace 10 the State and 20
humA nature, and well calculated to
bring the bench into utter contempt
Under the whole of this infamous pro-
eeeding the editors Of the AcaldncLe have
stood mp manfnlly for the rights Of the
press against the mean maliguity Of
partisan Judge, and they shonld triumph,
as they viii, if justice be not dethroned
In announcing their prospective irpprison.
mept for the contempt they entertain and
have expressed Cor Judge Hunter, the
editors Of the AUalGRche say
" A swipdIing Eagabsnd, an nnprinci-
Piled Judge, dressed mia little brief authori-
~, may trample upon Law, usurp authority,
and incarcerate ~ in loathsome dungeons
bui thank God he cannot chain the mind,
the immortal mind which scorus letters,
scars above despotism, and since cur right
arm Is not manseled or palsied, we intend,
with our editorial pincers, to make the
putrid flesh that covers the rotten bones Of
our prosecutor CULVER like a worm IN hot
ashes No amount Of imprisonment can
ehsnFe our opinion Of William Hunter
We repeat here al we have said of him. |
We sccGsed him OF taking straw bail; of
receiving as security negroes who Lad |
been arrested for vagrane7 Ws repeal ibe |
charge and sIhat Is more, sc can Yr0ge 4. |
The old sWi1dler knows this, and will not,
therefore, permit as 70 show to the world |
before the court he disgraoss, that he has /
arrested as for telling the truth. Con-
scioas Thai The constitution and Laws of /
tennessee give Us the right to expose COR
rupiion, % aeaounce. an nnprincipled /
Judge upon thebsnch a. freely e. the bse-
gar tIpcB the street, We can we'll afford "a
scorn the efiorf Of Hunter to nnzrls this /