News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-10-02
The MaIoney Trial.

NJ. j. Maloney of the Richford Ga
zette, was indicted at the last session
of the Grand Jury in Orleans County
for the malicious publication of libel
GUS articles rejecting upon the official
and private character of Chief Justice
Royce of our Supreme Court. His
trial was looked forward to with con-
siderable interest, as the charges were
very grave, and if true rendered Judge
Royce an unfit person to fill the office
which he now holds, and to which it is
understood the coming legislature
were likely to again elect him, unless
such showings should be made as to
render his reelection improper. Judge
Royce is acknowledged to be one of
the ablest of the judges comprising the
Supreme Court of cur State, and the
charges made against him by Mallory,
if true, seemed to render it absolutely
necessary that his able services be dis
pensed with. The result of the trial
recently closed removes the grounds
for opposition to his reelection, as the
jury found Mallory guilty of libeling
Judge Royce on all the counts in the
indictment. They were unanimous in
their verdict on the first ballot, and
the press generally seems to regard
the verdict as complete vindication
of Judge Royce. Judge Powers of our
own county presided, and his charge
is spoken of as being a very able, fair
and impartial presentation. We give
our readers below an abstract of the
charge;
Gentlemen of the Jury-The case which
is now approaching its conclusion IS an
important one, not only as 1t AFFECTS the
parties directly concerned, but as 1t at.
fects the people of the State of Vermont
Its trial has been attended with consid
cradle delicacy and embarrassment, not
only to the members of the bar, but as
well to YOU and much more so TO me.
But notwithstanding the peculiar rela
ton in which we all stand to the case, il
is to be tried like every other case IL
court. In the eye of our law, all men
high and low, stand upon the same broad
level of protection, and in this case theI
are to so stand to-day. The case is to b'
tried as if all the persons involved by it
consequences were the two humblest cit
liens in Vermont. The lndlctmen
charges the respondent with the publ
cation of ibelOus article in the Rich
ford Gazette in its issue of May 18th last
The charges in the Indictment are sc
forth in three counts. In the first coun
the indictment charges the responder
with aYerring that Chief Justice ROyc
has been guilty of the crime of bribery
in the third count it charges that Chic
Justice Royce, or Judge Royce of tn
County Court, or Judge Royce as Chan
eellOr of the Court of Chancery, and a
presiding Judge of the County Court
has been guilty of bribery. In the sec
ond count it charges Judge Royce wit
having visited houses of ill-repute. Tn
charges, therefore, as you observe, ar
specified in three seperate counts, and
is competent for the jury in their veI
dict to find generally that the respond
ent is guilty or not guilty, or to fin
specially that he is guilty under on
count and not under another. The re
spondent pleads the general issue, Whlcl
IN substance and effect is: : L have no
published defamatory libel agains
Judge Royce, such as is specified in Ell
ther of the counts of the Indictment.
Secondly, he says by virtue of a Stat
provision of our law, under the genera
issue he will show that the words con
tanned in that article state the truth
He also says that he published thos'
words by virtue of privilege which b,
has, and respecting which | shall cal
YOUR attention to hereafter. This, gen
tIemen, is the legal status of the charge
made by this Indictment and the answe
offered by the respondent. The Cour
then defined hbelous publication, ant