St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-03-07
Mr.. KiLBoURN.S JUDGMENT.

What It Costs Congress to Imprison Man
Cnlawfully-A Talk With the Plaintiff In
. Celebrated Case.
"Wili Congress make the appropria.
ton to pas your judgment against ex-
Sergeant-at-Arms John G.. Thompson?"
asked reporter of Mr. Hallet Kilbourn.
That is matter for Congress and
Thompson to SETTLE" answered Mr.. Kill
bourn. My judgment is against
Thompson as an individual and not as
Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Rep
resentativeS, therefore l have nothing
to do about any Congressional appro-
priation for Thompson S relief"
''How long has your controversy with
the House and its Sergeant-at-Arms been
going on?"
1T will be nine years next month
since the first proceedings We're initiated
by the House of Representatives. was
discharged from custody on writ of
habeas corpus in April, 1876. ] then
Instituted suit against Thompson and
Others. and fought it through the conrts
of the District and the United States Su-
preme Court The latter trib,lal rem
dered an unanimous opinion against the
arbitrary and illegal action on the part
of the House of Representatives in or
dering my arrest and imprisonment,
and sustained my suit against Thomp-
son for false Imprisonment
Then followed the jury trialss"
Eyes. sir: the Supreme Court having
rnft1,l 10, l., .,fxh a ra,,,n~lal
back to the District Court for trial by
jury to assess and fix the amount of
damages"
How many jury trials have there
been2"
Three" said Mr.. Kilbourn. THE
first triad resulted in a judgment Of
100000. which was set aside BY Judge
Macarthur. The second jury rendered
verdict of 100000, which was set
aside by Judge Cox: the last jury
brought in verdict for S37 800. which
Judge Hagner cut down to $4,000"
Have YOU accepted that?s
Il accepted the situation at that fig
ure. as life was too short to continue
going through the farce of trial by
jury when the continuous dictum of the
Judge on the bench set at naught
the solemn judgment of the
jury, who by the constitution and the
law were alone authorized to assess the
amount of damages as developed by the
evidence submitted in the trial.
did not the Government defend the
suit for Thompson?"
20. yes. and employed in all some
twelve eminent LAWYERS. who contested
the matter at every STEP
"You must be DESTROYS of having the
matter settled?'
swell. am taking the matter philo-
sophically." answered Mr.. Kilbourn. Il
didn't institute the suit for the money
consideration that might possibly re-
suit. In fact, my expenses in the nine
years contest have far exceeded the
amount of the present judgment. / felt
that it was an illegal and unjust pro-
ceeding on the part of the House of
Representatives to order the arrest and
imprisonment of a citizen not even ac-
cused of violating any law, and deter
mined to test the matter in the courts
and pursue it to q final conclusion. l
have succeeded step by step up to the
present, and the principle has finally
been judicially settled that Congress.
even in the plentitude of its power. can
not order the arrest and imprisonment
Of the humblest citizen. except by due
process of law! And l should think
Congress would be glad that the veNed
question had been jadicially disposed
of. -WdShington Star.