The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-02-01

misrepresentation by totally ignoring the
law and the testimony?
gz===S=z
THE CHARGE OF JUDGE WOODS.
The charge of Judge Woods TO the jury,
in the tally sheet case against Coy, Bern
hamer and Matter, is a remarkable docu-
ment as it appeared in print-not remark
able tor legal learning, because it is entirely
innocent of nything of that sort. 1t is
remarkable for length-not for words fifty
spoken, which are like apples of silver In
pictures of gold" bat more like brick-bsts
thrown by some irste mobOcrat at the OBJ
jet of his vengeance.
Those who read the proceedings of the
trial which resulted In The conviction of
Messrs. Coy and Bernhsmer, or who wit
messed the proceedings from end to end,
will doubtless be impressed with the fact
that Judge Woods, as well as Msssrs.
Sellers and Claypool, was engaged for the
prosecution, and to read his charge dispss-
sionately, Will doubtless riyet the convic-
ton upon their minds,
Judge Woods tells the Jury that it is
bound to accept his definition of law; but
that his opinions with regard to facts are
simply advisory He hiss, it seems
8 right TO inject them into tn
minds Of The iury-and most Ger
tainly he did inject them-and
coming from the Bench It is quite likely
they had weight and influence that
otherwise they would not have possessed;
and if he left any thing unattended to cal
culated to secure conviction, the discovery
of such omission viii requirs search
warrant.
In the beginning of his charge, Judge
Woods said:
In this court you are bound By the instruc-
tions of the judge in respect TO purely law
que ions, snd in respect to questions OF
fact the Judge has more discretion than is
accustomed to be exercised or, indeed is
proper to be exercised by the State judges
III the way of advising jury, though What
ever me Judge may say IN respect 10 any
question of fact is only advisory, and
should il fueDce you only so far as il may
commend itself TO our Judgment.
Taking this for his text, the Judge dsliy-
cred to the jury haranguel which, from
first to last, was a plea for conviction.
Neither Sellers nor Claypool, whose duty il
was to prosecute in.the name Of the Gov
eminent, exhibited a more vindictive
spirit. 1t was expected of the authorized
attorneys of the Government that they
would exhaust their resources of law and
learning to secure conviction. Their brad
and butter is earned in that way. Clay.
pool was not so much an agent of the
Government as he was of Ritter, that sal
geHeds critter who, to class SIS reptile,
would suggest an apology to all the SER
pents that ever crsWled with fsngs in their
mouths or rattles on their tails. But Clay
pool who is master OF the vocabulary OF
billingsgste, as was shown in his denuci-
alton of John G.. New in the bank case,
ried in the courts in 1885, was a worthy
4ssociate of Sellers, and q worthy associ-
ate of old Bill Henderson, whose fitness for
public trust was eternaily settled by the
llustrious Hendricks. 1t was expected
hat this brace of worthless, Sellers
and CIaypool whose bread and
butter was at stake, would
seek to convict, but it was not
rsquired-it was not law, it was not de-
cency, that Judge Woods should turn
prosecutor, that he should soil his ermine
by course which places Judge in posi-
ton 80 humiliating, SO degraded that every
| honorable man would blush to conLem-
| plate his degeneTacy. But that is Just
| What Judge Woods did. He not only
stated the law (7), as was his duty to state
it, but he transformed himself into pros.
ecutor, which the law does not contemplate.
I From the bench he Numbered forth law,
I be tortured facts, be braided, twisted and
l inter-tWisted Law and facts, conclusions
and theories into a bewildering mass OF
sophism, such legal (2 jugglery, such
labgrinthian sophisms, that which, having
the appearance OF fairness, had for their
purpose conviction regardless Of law, guilt
/ or testimony. The infamous organization
I known as the COMMITTEE OF 0ne Hun
bred" that never sought to convict an in
/ dicted' Republican in the United States
! Court or any other court, is most artistlcally
/ Whitewashed By Judge Woods. In this
attempt to white wash this COMMITTEES, the
/ Judge ia sadly unfortunate. He refers to
a statute permitting citizens to organize
Tor the detection and conviction OF horse
thieves, but the statute does not provide
that only Democratic horse thieves shall be
hunted down. The Committee of One
Hundred, like SC many hounds,
pursued Democrats, never turning
/ their attention TO Republicans, and,
strange to say, the District Attorney,
Mr.. Sellers seems to have been inoculateo