Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-09-21
Judicial Contempt of Law.
|lilaaclphia Times.

Judge Patterson, of Lancaster, seems
ambitious to test to the uttermost the for
bearance of the good people of his proverb-
tally upright county, by his strange judi
cial contempt Of both law and justice.
His summary disbarmcnt of two of
the most respected officers of his
court was charitably judged by many as
the mastery of passion that is common to
men that when he recently restored two
partisan voters to liberty, after their legal
commitment by competent authority, and
since then was taken by a partisan wOr-
shipper to a magistrate to exercise extra
judicial power for tho liberation of a public
pickpocket, caught in the act, the only
charitable judgement that can be exercised
in his behalf must be on the ground that,
by reason of mental or moral obliquity, he
is not responsible for his acts.
Some days ago one Of the peripatetic
thieves that follow crowds, was taken in
the act of picking the pocket of 4 citizen
Of Lancaster county at a circus. The de-
tective saw the thief pick the pocket and
throw the pocket-book away when he no.
ticed that he was detected, and the owner
of the pocket-book identified the stolen
property. The thief was taken before AL
derman Barr, and he was committed to
prison for sixty days, under the 15Sth sec
tion of the criminal code, as "a profess
sional thief, burglar Or pickpocket," ard
committed also for trial at the November r
court of quarter sessions" There could
be no reasonable dispute about the charac-
ter or guilt of the prisoner; but he had
several hundred dollars of money, and
Mr.. J. Hay Brown, who has heretofore
figured in Judge Pattcrson's judicial
blunders, became counsel for the thief. He
did not proceed by habeas corpus, as the
law provides in cases of summary sentence
by a magistrate, nor did he offer bail for
the appearance of the prisoner at the
court but he called upon Judge Patter-
son, took him to the magistrate and there
Judge Patterson advised the rehearing and
discharge of the pickpocket. If the pris-
oner had only been committed for trial at
court, there might have been some excuse
for Judge Patterson advising the discharge
on the ground that the travelling detective
would not be likely to appear against him
and that without the detectives evidence
there could be no conviction, although
even thcnit would have been an unwarrant
cd voluntary interference by a judge with
volunteered to advise the rche:iring and
VI al tAiVA WIN Atsu OSCh
sentenced as professional pickpocket,
and thus turn a vagabond criminal loose
upon the community again, he not only
degraded the judicial office, but he made
the lowest mockery of both the law and
administration of justice.
The only possible pretext for this petty
prostitution of judicial authority visible to
the public is in the fact that tho pick
Pocket had several hundred dollars Of some
victims money, and his attorney, Mr.. J.
Hay Brown, had liberal fee in prospect
if lie effected the discharge of the thief.
The law denied the discharge, for had
Judge Patterson, on hearing on = writ Of
habeas corpus, reversed the magistrates
sentence, he could not have vcnturcd to
discharge the prisoner from his commit
ment for appearance at court, and there
was but one way to obtain the pickpocket's
release and the possession of his doubtless
stolen money by his attorney, and that
was by Judge Patterson voluntarily ap-
pearing before the magistrate and advis-
ing tho discharge. He did so; the pick
pocket was set at liberty his money was
lifted on his order by Mr.. J. Hay Brown,
and one Of "the best voters" in Judge
Patterson's political field, hada liberal fec
at fearful cost to the majesty of the law,
the integrity of justice and the judicial
dignity and trustworthiness of Il judge.