The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1874-04-03
DURELL DRUNK ON THE BENCH,

DURELL DRUNK ON THE BENCH.
The following is the sworn statement
of Judge Campbell concerning Judge
Durell's demeanor on the bench:
I was engaged by Mrs. Allaine to
have proceedings set aside, and night
session was appointed for an argument
of the case and the papers had got
| hold of this matter in some previous
discussion and made a good deal of it
went into the court, and one of the
counsel moved to adjourn, saying that
| that the discussion should be made in
the day time; this was q night session
and very unusual, the only one 1 ever
knew of; I referred to the remarks in
the newspapers, and stated the asper-
sions of them had nothing to do with
the administration ofjustice in this
case and thereupon the Judge broke in
q very loud and very insulting tone,
assuming that 1 had prepared these
pieces in the newspapers and signify
ing that 1 could not over-awe the court;
l rose to reply to him and he turned
his face to me; I saw at once that he
was drunk and made no reply, and he
adjourned the court; of course I had
nothing to do with the newspapers or
any publications concerning him in
them.
q. You did not inform him that you
had nothing to do with the news
papers?
A. Nothing ut all s; lie adjourned the
court instantly, before / had Opportu-
nifty; l saw he was drunk and l hest
tated an instant, but he Immediately
adjourned the court.
STATEMENT or II. N. OGDEN, ESQ.
IL. n. Ogden testified as follows:
q. State what you know of his con-
duct on the bench:
a. will give you an instance and
state a case which occurred to myself,
which will throw more light upon that
matter than what can say generally {:
1 cannot say much Of the treatment of
the rest OF the bar; I had 4 case for a
man by the name of Seely against B.
F. Flanders, who was formerly Mayor
of the city of New Orleans, and also
Military Governor of Louisiana the
suit was for about six thousand dollars !;
I filed petition in the case; it was a
civil suit in the Circuit Court, and Mr..
Beckwith was employed upon the
other side; he is the United States
District Attorney; he first filed an eX-
ception in the nature of demurrer !;
it was put to issue whether had a
cause of action ut all in the suit that
is my present recollection of the matter;
the exception was tried and Overruled !;
some six months afterward the case
was called on its merits, and I had my
. witness, Mr.. Seely, in court; by rule of
that court all cases are tried by jury,
unless the jury is waived proposed
to waive the jury did not care to try
it by jury, the judge having decided
this point in my favor, which gave me,
f as considered, plain sailing but Mr..
BeclSwith declined to waive the jury,
and the jury was called; I put my wit
ness on the stand, and while I was ex-
a1nining him to prove the facts alleged
in my petition, the judge asked for the
, petition in the case; it was handed to
: him he then interrupted me in the
most abrupt manner by saying, "You
have got no case against Flanaers;'
was astonished; the case had been tried
: on the exception, and was now going
, before q jury that had been regularly
empanneled; 1 told him that 1 pro-
posed to try the case before tile jury, il
he would permit me; he said, "You
have got no case against Flanders," OF
words to that effect; 1 then asked him,
, ado you propose to take the case away
from the jury after this person has been
sSiiA liS ostAV, - Will W. IL ~ 1
feel like - I then said, "Well, sir, as
q matter of course, l have no way OF
, preventing your honor from doing that:
, but this jury was asked by Mr.. Beck
With l was more or less embarrass-
ed; turned to my client and spoke to
him as to what / should do next.
While l was doing SO the judge dis
? charged tho jury, and said he would
! try this case on exceptions l knew OF
. no exceptions; only exception that had
been taken in the case had been tried
and decided in my favor then told
my client that he had better employ
somebody else in tho case; that l had
just returned from Washington, and
the Judge was evidently prejudiced
against me; that was last winter;
told my client to get another lawyer
: hc said, "If you cannot get this matter
through, l will take my chances with
, you - I was determined to do the best
l could for him, so l tried the next
morning, when the judge was on the
bench. to have q day fixed to try these
: jury exceptions; Beckwith was absent
, and the case was continued from time