National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-11-10

the trial ofA crimes and orenscs arising within the
Now, Your Honor, II Is the easiest thing In the
world, by going back few years Into the past 70
look at the Revised Statutes OF the District Of CO.
The Court-I understand It was to correct an
Mr. Totten--Yes. sir; the Revised Statutes len
this court without any Jurisdiction, so that this
thing that Is The body Of he jurisdiction whicht
had always exercised. That point was raised here
by gentleman who probably had not much con.
| will probably remember the litigation very well.
| He made the defense that this court was ALSO
this District and there was absolutely no answer
| to IT, The only answer that ever wasJmade was Tue
shall DO construed TO mean aud intended 70 I'M
| settle
THE PRACTICE OF THE COUNTRY
for 152 years because the last criminal information
ever filed in Maryland, so far as I can find out,
was In 172i 1.-THE gentleman cannot find any better
authority to support his proceeding, l think he
Now we have another reference to these same
statutes on page 20i. II is nothing except a ro-
/ have read before. which was orig.
inaIy two years The statute was passed
The time of limitation was eS,ended three years years
in order TO allow the Harrington conspiracy case
to get to the grandIury room. II was for the pur-
ali II was for nsimply repeats the word informa-
ton" as II is found In theorgnal Revised Statutes
aud as the original rcyisor OF the law found II in
tho old revenue statutes, where Il was
made applicable TO a proceeding In rem.
Now 4 the Court please, desire a. reference TO
East, 6i6 In that tile court denominates this pro
ceeding by information as an extraordinary one;
thatit Is prosecution In an extraordinar manner.
that It was under a statute which was
more than eighty years old never having
been acted upon, and regarded as obsolete.
Now, II the Court please, come TO consider few
II of the cases in which iniormations have been ed.
or course criminal informations have been fled
States not only in New York, but in Michi-
| gan, IN Oregon, In California and in Missouri
Hereafter Will invite Your lIonors attention to
few considerations touching several of these cases
The first case is the case OF the United States
against cultus Joe, whom presume 70 have been
of selling whisky 10 the Indians In the Territory of
Washington, aud the district; attorney Of the
| United states, probably In order TO avoid the
grand jury or to avoid delay, prepared his infor:
nation and went 70 the territorial court and
Mr. Justice Green heard his application. Your
Honor will find the case reported In 4 Chicago
irsi case that know anything about where it was
criminal information. The learned judge prepared
and published an elaborate opinion denying
Honor cSre perasa your honor has heard
great deal of the of the United States against
Maxwell, Dillon. But the reasons assigned by
Jnstce Greene In the case OF Cults Joe for deny
Ing the motion are far more powerful and far more
: reasonable, more In consonance with the princi-
4 pics WnlCn ptcNhH III tiliS country tiihn
4 ANY OF THE DECLARATIONS
! found ih the case OF Maxwell, or in the case oil
c Shepherd in l Abbott 1t is very labored opin.
ion, II Is very carefully prepared, and although Il
= IL entitled to just US much weight with Your
Z Honor as any other court, provided the reasons
II assigned In the case met with Your Honors ap.
j. prevail. No court can make decisions which ar,
binding upon this court except one, tho Supreme
: Court of this country. aud | submit that tht
Y | denouncing OF this proceeding nre superior
. Q anything You have heard elsewhere
" Now, in the case of Shepherd, found IA
!; l Abbott, p. 49,, It was u case arising in tn,
q State of Michigan. Somebody had committed al
y onense there, ! do not remember what 1t was ant
81 he had been proceeded against before Unltet
= States commissioner and held to bail. The pro
s. ceedng against him was regular, probable cnus
was ordered TO be arrested, but by some means OF
other he was not there when they wanted TO arres
re trict court and filed a criminal Information
<, on the strength of the previous eNamina
;. nation, and then took a copy OF tina
is paper and sent 1t to Chicago where Shep
j. herd had taken, refuge. An application
was made on the strength of that in
% formation TO the district judge the United state
70 al Chicago aud he ordered that Shepherd be com
"a mitted and sent TO Detroit for trial, aud he wa
Is accordingly sent there, and the motion was mad
70 for his discharge The court discharged him o
l. the ground thar he had been arrested in Chicag
?; without due process of law, without probaDl
to discuss this question, which was not as ] un
derstand, made there at all, and 1t was not nece,
CT sary in the decision of that case that he shoul
I'd have said anything about IT. but the justice wro
ir long opinion on the question ofcrlminal informs
tons, and said, although they had not been in u:
n. for
I'D PERIOD OF EIGHTY YEARS,
~ still they were good thing, and might II PROF
~, ~ crly guarded serve good end, but declare
at upon good cause shown, and that those aleg,
n safeguards held by English lawyers to surrour
another case. The case of the United States '
Waller in the LIST of Sawyer. do not rememb
lat what that was, but the tenor was that u Grimm
ge information might be filed in the Federal court
to The man had committed some msdemeanot
L. probably II was violation of the election laws
on and therefore by section 1922 OF the X
on vised Statutes the court had jursdictic
'as to proceed by criminal information. Then the
ly were two other cases, aud a Bl9tehforo. Tho
art cra other do not to allude To partcl
n arly; but desire to state-and following the e.
ms ample of1he gentlemen who swear to this Info
ice nnlion--upon Information and belef-that
In was undertaken at Charleston, In the State
on South Carolina, few years ago. In what Is know
nit as the conspiracy cases. to prosecute by crimin
he information, aud His Honor, Judge Bond, the ci
nd cult judge, decided that he could not suppC
OF any such proceeding; that they mt
Of have those indicted by grand ju
its and brought into court In the regular way, W
iu- gentleman coming from that part of the COUNT
act and give It for what IL is worth. l am also 1
of formed that Justice Bradley declined to entcrta
n a formation IS not very definite. We have II
in other cases, II the Court please, They have I
ferreu 10 an OplnlOn'Oi Judge DlllOn, MhNwe
I'VE and one of United States VS.. Isham IL Waai
and the other is the case Of Bussey VI. Unit
Ich States. Is Wallace. lsham, in the northweste
ust part of Michigan, issued something that appear
mat TO be
in A NOTE OF HAND WITHOUT A STAMP,
ind and a criminal information was filed against IA
OF and he was tried upon the information, and I
question was whether those particular pieces
for paper he had issued were liable TO stamp duty
and Two cents The fine involved was $50. No qu'
ton was made about the propriety OF the prncti
in no question was made by the Supreme Court abe
a It, aud the result of II was the Court dismissed
be proceeding the merits OF the case; and {
our same result took place IN me case OF Bnssey,
my Wallace No question was made as TO the. p
led priety of the practice So that those cases do
S7l establish anything Al all events they W,
in proceedings to collect fine OF $50 imposed by
Internal revenue laws. believe that in n scCti
OF the statute which provides for collection
=, such fines by that form of proceeding Your Hol
ne - will remember TINT all the way through
UT revenue laws when forfetures of property
cared. those forfeitures are 10 be enforced, not
,,,. Indictment but by Information. so
ibla IL is impossible, IL the Court please.
a'n prepare a statute of this kind, impos
; IN penalty, forfeiture or fine, without providing
their collection by action of debt, and by inform
- ton of the nature of quasi criminal proceeding.
'u e submit TO Your Honor. that without statute
ho authorlty-no criminal Information can be 81
aS ported in this District, and that there is no sta
nds tory authority, either express or implied, 10
risa proceeding oflhis kind in this Court, and, the
ia fore, submit to the Court, that IL cannot be 81
no | taiued on any theory of the law
"a -" ~ The Court then took recess
The After Recess.
ding Mr.. Cook--If Your Honor please,
net fore Colonel Totem proceeds think II fair to dir
the attention of the Court to Sawyer It has b.
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