National Republican., 1882-11-09
is HE FIT TO BE A JupoE7
trrom the Washington Post of Tuesday.

tFrom the Washington Post OF tuesday,
The pervcrsiun Of testimony to which Judge
Wyie resorted in his charge to the jury in the so-
teldo case calls for notice and severe denounce-
ment. We have no interest In the case further
than rs II affects tho rights and Interests Of the
community. In that relation 1t Is not only our
duty, but our interest to discuss IT,
When judge talnpers with evidence, so far as 10
state II untruthfuy to jurics, the lives anu liber-
ties OF the people, far as either maybe entrusted
to him, are endangered. That Judge Wylie grossly
perverted the evidence of c. NJ Barton as given
in the trial of young Soteldo for the murder OF
his brother we propose TO prove by quoting rom
stenographic reports of that testimony and the
judges version of it. In the Introductory portion
OF his charge Judge wylie said
You are the judges Of the fact, and q good many
| Lawyers now clnim--probably always nay, naNs
claimed-that the jury In criminal cases N, mus, ~
decide the law aud TACT both the court Is Just 70
keep order. But | shall not, certainly, on Ine
present occasion invade your province 70 ue-
eide upon the facts. You have the evident 9
IN regard to this controversy as TO who hreu lhe
shot, and you must consider it and decide II.
After thus declaring his purpose not to INVADE
the province of the jury to decide upon the iactS,
Judge Wylie gave TO the jury what he said was
Barton's testimony. II should be remembered
that good deal of time had elapsed, many wit
nesses had been h card, and good deal mad beei'
said by counsel between the time of Bartons tes'l
was easy, tn ereiore, for them to accept distor-
ton of the facts in lieu of the facs as stated by
tho witness They could not suppose that the
court would permit prejudice or bias to color an
alleged presentation of testimony. This is what
Judge Wylie said in this connection:
His (Soteldo's) bloy was of the commonest sort.
not dangerous to life, not calculated TO produce
any serious injury TO Barton. There is no PROOF
that his eyes were bloOded in consequence, or
that there was any swelling upon his fuce, or any
iniury DlOw
received tue blow Barton put his hand TO ms uesK
drawer. which was open aud TOOK out MS plsl9l,
front of So,cldo and attempted to fire. 1t missed
| fire-did not go Off That is Barton testimony.
Now, If these be the facts-and that Is Barlons
tcstimony-my opinion of the law is-you may
differ from me, gentlemen, but my opinion OF the
law is that the blow given by Soteldo 70 barton
was no justification and no excuse for the agt OF
IONS pistol had gone oil and Soieldo had been
Killed on these facts before me shou'd shy Tue
otlense would have been at lenst manslaughlcr.
The stenographic report of Barton's testimony
shows that after describing the entrance of the
two So eldos into his office and the passing of n
paper to him by the elder Soteldo the witness
said:
az took 1t in my hand and read It, handed it
back to him and said smilingly don't care ior
that SIR He quietly said: You don't, uamh
you, and struck me II powerful blow IN the iore-
head. We sprang TO our feet both OF us az the
lie clinchcd me by the III oat with his left hand
aud made a movement with his right toward his
hip pocket, and bent over me. AT that tlme
when he struck me, plainly saw The young man
standing near me with drawn pistol. l used
the left hand to try to fend oil the elder Soieluo
He had me at the time with his band around the
throat checking me very hard. drew the plstoi
around and placed IT against his stomach anu
used It us puichase to get The pistol cooked, an9
pulled the trigger. III the moment was struck
in the neck or back of the ear"
That is the testimony of Barton as given in tile
direct examination, On cross-eXamination, he
said, in answer TO questions
"lle struck me very powerful blow on the fore.
head" Did he strike you win his hs ii;LT M on YES
was stunning for moment My head was cut"
That is what Judge Wylie calls "blow of the
commOncst sort" Here VIC have Barton quietly
attending to his business in his Office at night
Two men, of whose designs against his life he
had been frequently warned during the day, en-
ter. After moment one of these mon deals him
a powerful blow between the eyes, cutting him
and partially stunning him, then grasps him by
the throat, while tn other man stands with
volyer in his hand. Yet all this, according to
Judge Wylie, was no excuse, no justification for
the act of Barton in dra wing his pistol upon So
teldo.'
The Judge makes no account Of the accomplice,
who stood with pistol in hand; nor of the des.
perate grasp by the throat nor of Sotedo's reach
ing his hand back toward his hip pocket. The
alteration between two gen tlemen, in which one
deals the other the comm nest sort of blow,''
and thereupon the recipient OF the triling blow
draws deadly weapon.
With all due respect for tho law and the courts
we will say to Judge W ylie that, If feeling in
censed Al this article he should 20 yaporing about
the street as to his intention to settle with us,
should call on an ex-convict to accompany him,
should furnish himself and his companion with
revolvers. and should arm himself with deadly
dirk knife in addition, nd, with his associate,
come to our Office as the SoteldoSdid to Barton's,
and do or threaten to do just what the Solteldos
did there, we should do our best to put q bullet
through him before he could carry out his threats
or purposes, and this Notwithstanding bis charge
in the Soteldo case, which we not only brand as
disgraceful-a perversion of the evidence and u
misstatement of the law-but SO wantun in its dis
regard of the principles of law, by which the
vicious elements OF large city held in check,
as to make 1t matter of very serious inquiry
whether Judge Wylie is in his right mind, or, be-
ing SO, whether he is qualified by education or
temper to hold In his hand the grave responsible
ties committed TO judge OF the criminal court OF
the District of Columbia.