Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-03-16
LAW OF IMPEACHMENT.

LAW OF IMPEACHMENT.
Eloquent and Able Exposition by Coun
selor BrisbIp.
Upon the opening of the impeachment court
few minutes past o'clock yesterday morn
ing,J. B. Brisbin, of counsel for respondent,
commenced the closing argument in his be-
half. He commenced his remarks by brief
allusion and refutation of the charge that the
the trial had been needleSsly prOtracted. Trial
by Impeachment was most important Involving
as 1t did the dearest rights of the accused, and
it was duty that could not be shirked for
counsel to exhaust every means to secure an
acquittal, against which the time of senators
and few thousand dollars should count for
nothing.
Continuing he said that by reference to the
journal of December 16, when the vote was
taken in the demurrer, he found that only
twenty-nine out of forty-one senator's
had voted. With that record, he
asked what became of the allegation that the
demurrer was res adjudicata2 How could
that be when only few more than bare
quorum had voted?
Counsel then attended to the declaration of
one or two senators that, though absent from
the sessions of the court while the evidence
was being taken, they intended to vote, thus
violating the very foundation principle of COM
mon law that accused shall be confronted
with his accusers, and that he should be
deemed innocent until proven guilty. Would
any Senator undertake to say that should Sem
atOrs Bemar and Lawrence-who have been
absent during the entire sitting come here now
and announce their intention to vote, it
would not outrage public decen-
cy and public justice. In what
respect do the cases of these two gentlemen
differ from that of several others, except that
the latter have been here few times as shown
by the records but still even then a fourth of
the time the court has been in session.
Counsel in abiding to and asking the ques
tion who are Judge Cox's accusers spoke of
Rev. Rogers as a peripatetic creature of the
Baptist persuasion ga Benedict Arnold of
Benedict Arnolds to any society" and also of
triumvirate of place seekers and place hunters,
Weber, Ladd and Walin, as men with a
grievance.
Further along counsel charged that the law
of last session relating to removal of officials
for drunkenness was framed for this case by
some of those who wanted his place, and saw
no other means to secure it than by impeach-
ment.
Branching off from this feature of the case
counsel produced copy of the Police Gazette
containing picture correspondent and charged
that its being there was the work
of the enemies of Judge Cox after which
he proceeded to score them without mercy,
from which he naturally branched off to the
course pursued by certain newspapers, in con-
nection with the denunciation of which he
quoted the celebrated scene in Bulwer's
"Richileu,'' in which the aged cardinal draws
the awful circle of his church around the
trembling girl and threatens to launch the
nf Roma tho hood IF WhncnnUar
would tear her from his sheltering bosom,
and paraphrased the same by applying it to
the circle of law, order, justice and decency
around the form of Judge Coz on this Occa-
sion.
While proceeding counsel was interrupted
by Senator d. Buck, who said, that instead OF
holding the opinion stated by counsel, he had
held exactly the reverse, viz, that impeach-
ment is not criminal, but quasi criminal
proceeding only. Counsel then made the
amende honorable, and then proceeded at
some length to argue that impeachment was
criminal proceeding, governed by the same
rules Of evidence as in criminal prosecutions
in the ordinary courts of the land, in support
of which he read literally from the authorities.
Continuing Counsellor Brisbin said that he
had IN his argument thus far undertaken to
establish the proposition that impeachment
was criminal proceeding, and that therefor a
pCi SOu SOulO Ouly DC pCslCllCu III lmfIldl
offense. From this he proceeded to illustrate
what were improbable offenses under our
constitution. Counsel commenced his argu
ment upon this point with the assertion that
if he did not succeed in convincing the senate
that misbehavioI in office was not
an Improbable offensa, it would be the fault
of himself and not from lack of explicit
ness in the constitution in specifyngsuch Of
fences. He then read from the constitution
f6ac 1av, fIofxr
ishable by impeachment, removal from Office
by the governor by and with the advice of the
senate, or that were triabe and punishable by
the ordinary courts of the land. The constitu-
tion provides that public official may be thus
removed for malfeasance, misconduct or bad
conduct in office. The constitution does not
specify the nature of the offense of habitual
drunkenness: but the legislature had cured the
omission by making it misbehavior, NAL
feasance. This act did not enlarge the scope
of the constitution, and as the constitution
did not provide for the punishment of misbe-
havior in office by Impeachment, habitual
drunkenness could not be punished in that
manner, but must be by removal by the gov
ernor, by and with the advice of of the senate.
1t is not maintained that respondent has been
guilty of corrupt crnduct in Office, bnt simply
that he has been guilty of mistehayior, moth
ing more. In supporting his position he
ItlcIIGu db lcuktu W well totdUlfSu6u
authorities as 70 the construction of the terms
applying to different offenses, concluding his
point with review of the inception of the
common law principles governing legal pro-
ceedings o.day as handed down from the
sacred mount of the scriptures, in which
numerous well known scriptural texts were
given in Illustration.
Recess to $50 p. m.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Councillor Brsbin resumed his argument
on the reassembling of court at p. M, and
for two hours had the undivided attention of
members and spectators. He quoted from the
constitutions of every state in the Union and
commented on the wording having reference
to misGemeanors, claiming in every instance
it was necessary for the offense charged to be
anfindictable one, otherwise it could not be an
improbable one.
The learned counsel from his long con-
tinued effort, was suffering with severe
hoarseness, so that the evening session was
abandoned, and the court adjourned to a. m.
to-day, with the understanding that Counsel
lor Brlsbin shall sum up, and not to occupy
more than an hour this morning, after which
Counsellor Dunn will occupy the balance of
the day.
Adjourned to o'clock to-day.
THE COURTS.
Probate Court.