Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-09-17
The Brandt Case.

Every honest man in Iowa will re-
greet to see rascal such as Brandt
has proven to be, escape justice and
merited punishment through the tech
meal Interpretation of law. But at
the same time we cannot see the rea-
son or justice in rushing to the con-
clusion that the decision of Judges
Miller, Cole and Day, the promulga-
ton of which relieves Brandt from
punishment tor his crimes, was in
fuenced by unworthy motives, or in
DANGEROUSLY denouncing it without
examination. 1t should be remem-
bered that the Supreme Court did not
and could not pass upon the merits
of the case. Its only province was
to decide upon the points of law in.
volved in the trial and presented by
the defendants attorneys on appeal.
Brandt's attorneys appealed from the
judgment Of the lower court OH the
ground that the Grand Jury that in
dicted him was not drawn according
to law. This point the Supreme
Court took under consideration, and
after examination three of the four
Judges decided that it was Valid
The decision covering this judgment
discusses the points at full length,
and cites precedent from the legal
records of our own State, in which
precisely the same points were made
and the same decision rendered.
While Brandt is undoubtedly guilty
of embezzlement, and richly deserv-
ing the extreme penaltry for that
crime, nobody desires to see him pun
ished except through the operation of
law. No nght-minded person would
have the court go contrary to its hon
est judgment of what is law merely
to land Brandt in the penitentiary.-
Such action might have been satisfac-
tory in tie case of Brandt, but it
would have made the Judges Grimm
ais, fit to accompany him to the prison
cell. The court had no other duty
than to conscientiously interpret the
points submitted to it, without regard
to the effect of its decision. There
is not particle Of evidence that cit
has not done this, or that its action
was biased by any unworthy consid-
Grafton. Not unexpectedly, however,
we find the Democratic press of the
State taking up the decision and en-
deavoring to make political capital
out of it. They charge that the de-
cision was influenced by political
considerations, or as the Dubuque
Herald expresses it, that the court
was "wllling to make IN unheard of
decision for the sake of the party
This is the very essence Of dishonesty,
and stupid dishonesty at that. Any
body with a thimblefull of brains
ought to be able to see that, if the
court had been Influenced by partisan
motives, it would have postponed the
decision until after the election. 1t
might have suffered the case to rest
and come up in its regular order at
the October term; it was not obliged
to render the decision during the
vacation. But, instead of being in
fluenced by considerations of partisan
prudence it promulgates its decision,
as soon as reached, right in the midst
of warm political canvass, thereby
giving the Democratic demagogues
the advantage of all the capital to be
made out of it. Does this show con-
sideration for "the party?" The fact
Is, that Brandt owes his escape to de-
plorable accident, but that accident
was not the fact th@t he was Re-
publican. AS to the merits of the
decision, we are not lawyer enough
to judge correctly of it. We only
wish the majority Of the court could
have conscientiously seen through
Judpo Rocks snactaclns