The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-03-09
VOL. XI.
JUDGE HANCOCK ON PRAC-
TICES IN THE FEDERAL
COURT.

fore Judge Turner tor a new trial in
the Rube Boyce case. 1t was
the purpose of the district at.
torney to prevent the introduction
of evidence, touching the improper
course of a deputy marshal in at
tempting to influence the verdict OF
the jury. Judge Hancock argued
the motion for a new trial, and
basing his points upon these evil
practices, he made an attack upon
court and officers that will be
remembered as one of the most start
ling speeches that ever fell from the
lips of any advocate before any tri-
bunal. Addressing the bench, Judge
Hancock said:
81 challenge your honor's recollec.
ton of your experience at the bar
and on the bench for a single case,
that has been so perfectly and abso-
lutely made out as this is. The OBJ
ject of the prosecution seems to be
to strike everything out. | find it
properly my duty to consider, not
alone the Jurors, but the officers OF
this court that had the jury III
charge, and 1 will say that probably
the history of the Jurisprudence OF
this county does not present an
analogous case of outrage and
monstrosity. L do not know
what is at the bottom of it
There is something. do not know
how much of the secret service fund
has been used. l do not know how
many parties have been employed
about this prosecution, going to
New Mexico and returning. l do
not know how many vouchers have
been sent forward that are pending
now, where probably action is sus-
pended to see whether this party be
declared guilty or not, i'll order to
determine whether acquisitions
made upon that fund will be paid,
but we do know that the marshal is
in Washington we do know that
great credit has been claimed by
the officers connected with this tri-
bunal for their success for getting up
testimony TO convict this man; we
do know that Il good deal OF money
has been spent, and we do know
that the government frequently re-
fuses to pay unless conviction is ef-
| fected. L will not say that such is
the motive, but | am warranted in
saying there certainly must be some
great motive, for l have rarely
found human action of a character
/ ffn1
out very powerful motive.
say, then, that the conduct
of the deputy marshal in this mat
ter, while it characterizes it as an
outrage and monstrous proceeding
without O parallel, is sufficient to set
aside a thousand verdicts. IwOuld
like to call your honor's attention
to McFarland's affidavit. He does
not negative anything that he is
charged with. He admits all i'm
plicitly, but, like the prosecution, he
takes q technical exception to the
precise manner in which it was
stated-has a recollection of the
words probably little different.
He says in this affidavit that he did
not tell the juror that Boyoe told
him that he would give away the
stage robbers and would tell where
the jews watch was, but Boyce said
so to another deputy marshal. Is
that not a pretty state of affairs in
your honor's court? am surprised
at your honor taking it so coOlly as
you do. Pardon me for saying so.
| think l would be q little fretful if
Mcfarland was an officer of my
court"
Pausing to produce the sworn
evidence that jurymen had been
tampered with by the marshal, he
asked the court to consider the
outrageous conduct embodied in the
facts that juror after juror had been
interviewed by the marshal ; that
they had been refused necessities
and some luxuries to force them to
a conclusion against the accused
that it had even proposed to starve
jurors into submission. Judge Han
cock again directed scatbing
rebuke, even an imputation, against
the court and its officers. He said
"What do you think of that, your
honor? Juror after juror conversed
With 1t may be to hurry up this
conviction, that the accounts may be
audited and paid in Washington,
for which these officers may have
been yearning- mayhap some OF
them on the verge of bankruptcy
| L believe am on a bond that
would like to get out of. am trem.
bling in my boots, and have no de.
SIRE to conceal it. There is nothing
IN the annals OF Jurisprudence and
the administration of criminal jus.
tice like this affidavit"
And so there is not. If the in.
stances presented by Judge Han.
cock be true (and they were support.
ed by competent testimony, for the
evidence is that the strongest argu'
ments attaching to whiskey and
tobacco and to daily bread
were used by the jealous deputy
marshal to secure the verdict OBJ
| tanned. The facts presented make
more of travesty of justice than Of
right, for which one appeals in the
courts, and the wonder is thai
Judge Hancock, though most Sc
we're, could have been so mild
Assuming that grandeur which in
dignaiion may produce, the dis
tinguished advocate continued:
"I thank God you were not a fig
urehead to this exhibition 4; tn,
drama would seem to indicate
something. / do not know that tn,
suspension of payment of tn,
vouchers has had much to do will
it, or that the mission of the mar
shal to headquarters has to b.
viewed by the action of the final de
termination of this case, but Will
deprecating the comments of news
papers upon the tribunals of tn
. country, | would ask your honor
what has been going on here doe
not fully justify the suspicion of
corrupt ring, dangerous TO the lib
critics of the people? If verdic
, of this sort, without evidence of tn
offense having been committed b
this man--and in the teeth of direC
testimony showing him to be an in
, nocent party---can be returned with
} out rebuke, by jury proved be
lyond any question to have bee
bulldozed into a verdict of ths
. sort, we may imagine that the day
of the Bastile have not passed ava,
), WHY the gentleman. (alludin0 /