The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-04-06
THE NILES BUSINESS.

When the trial of John H. Miles,
on the charge OF bigamy. or poly.
gsmy. was going on in the Third
District court, in the spring of 1879,
the HERALD took occasion to protect
against the conduct OF the court and
prosecution, and denounce their do
iugs as extraordinary and brutal.
Seldom has there been a trial where
the law was so EickedIy disregGrded
hy those whose duty it Wss to main
tain it. The proceedings were al
most infAmou-. LAT; -L=ssSs s.ezinaly
outraged, and the rights of the &C
Cused were Get at nsught. The
shameless conduct of the case dis
gusted even bitter opponents to Nor
monism and polygamyr and the court
and prosecuting officers we're sub
Jected 10 severe criticisms at the hands
of those who had previously main
tanned q decent respect for them and
believed in their desire to at leGst be
fair. At the conclusion of the trial,
this journal, in brieI comment, said
the verdict of guilty would "astonish
no one. Considering the manner in
which the trial was conducted from
she impaneling of The jury to the
courts charge. no other finding
could have been expected. The ap
parent determination of the court, as
well as that of the prosecuting altor-
ney, was to convict, and what they
lacked in testimony they made up in
extraordinary methods OF legal inter-
probation" It Was also asserted that
'enough error has been committed to
certainly reverse the finding in
higher court" We had not the
slightest doubt as to the re
verssl OF the judgment, should
the case ever be placed fairly
and intelligently before the Su-
preme Court, and the latter iribu-
nal be able to divest itself OF the pop
uIar prejudice against the church Of |
the defendant, which prejudice had |
been 80 clearly N Arks in the lower |
court and figured 40 much in making
up the verdict. The fact that the
territorial Supreme Court affirmed
the judgment OF the District Court
cut no figure IN the way OF dec4sra-
tion that the Judgment WAS correct.
Our federal courts here have been
conducted too much Oh the plan OF
''you tickle me and I'll tickle you"
With remarkably few exceptions, the
Supreme Court justices sustain the
actions of themselves and each other
as district judges. As the United
States Supreme Court is not partic-
llarly interested IN tickling the Utah
Judges, nor in preserving al IN
broken line of afrmatious Of local
it has so happened that
'eversal5 by the higher tribunal OF
court judgments has been
he rule and not the exception. Two ;
d those revsrsals have been recorded
his week-the Miles case, noted !
and the Folsom.Lamar
saux judgment mentioned in another /;
part Of this mornings HERALD. One
might naturally suppose that the
.versge Utah federal Judge. in view i
IF the long and constantly growing
ist of reverses By the Supreme Court,
would become disguised with him /
elf and bis ignorance OF the law, or I
Else profess sympathy for the judicial !
gnorAmuses on the United States
Supreme Bench. c
The conduct of the courts in such '
cases as that of Miles tends to defeat :
The objects and purposes of the C
aw officers themselves. 1t was a
he quite general impression =
hat the accused had done {
hat with which be was charged; t
,ut the public demanded that he .
lave fair trial. that the law and the n
AVIS proper methods be applied to i:
lin as to any other person accused OF t
Tending the statutes. When this n
vas not done, and mean advantages Il
we're taken of him, the persecution Ia
to vindictiVe prosecution q
md the court aiding in it, law-loving b
md law respecting popular sentiment p
nd sympathy declared themselves in u
with the defendant. and W
EN- lnded that fair treatment at least NJ
e accorded him. individuals and al
10 country st large we're forced to m
gard Miles treatment in the court dc
] rank persecution, no matter what ~
Isy have been thought OF his own IN
,nduct. This case showed as many er
hers do, that the courts and law
hcers being bent on The accomplish ~
ent of certain purposes, do not tn
ssitste at the means and methods re
ey employ to achieve those ends. GI'
be courts had better be fair and AID
,nest, dealing out law and ius.ics me-
thout prejudice, even should the
ilty escape, than deny rights and
. L.. nririlnnn, u the n,nnnnah a. 1