Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-09-18
TERRY'S PETITION.
His Plea for Pardon and the
Courts Reply.
THE PRISONERS PRAYER DENIED.
Just What the Judge Expected-He,
Charges Justice Field With
Unfairness.

| Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD.
SAN Francisco, September 17.-Justice
Field in the United States Circuit Court
to-day denied the petition of David S.
Terry, now confined in the Alameda
County Jail, for contempt of Court, to
have his sentence revoked. The court
room was crowded while the petition was
being read.
The Federal Grand Jury was in ses.
sion to-day, and it is understood that the
recent disturbance in the courtroom
which led to the Imprisonment Of Judge,
and Mrs. Terry is being investigated.
In his petition for release the following
language is employed by Judge Terry:
''When this Court made an order that
petitioners wife be removed from the
courtroom, your petitioner arose from
his seat with the purpose and intention
of himself removing her from
ably, and he had no intention or
design of obstructing or preventing the
execution of said order Of the Court; he
never struck, nor offered to strike the
United States Marshal until said Mar
shal had assaulted himself, and had in
his presence violently, and, as he be-
lieved, unnecessarily assaulted petition
er's wife. Your petitioner most solemnly
AYERS that he neither drew nor attempted
to draw any deadly weapon of any kind
whatever in said courtroom, and that he
United States Marshal with any deadly
weapon in the said courtroom or else
vhere."
In reading the decision of the court,
Justice Field said, after reviewing the
statement made in the petition of Judge
Terry: "We have read this petition with
great surprise at it's omissions and mis-
statements. AS to what occurred under
our immediate observation, its staten ent
d. es not accord with the facts as we saw
| them. AS to what occurred at the fur
ther end of the room and in the corridor,
its statement is inconsistent with the
| concurring accounts of officers of the
court and parties present whose
position was such as to preclude
an error in their observations.
According to the sworn statement of
the Marshal, which accords with our own
| observation. so far from having struck or
assaulted Terry, he had not even laid his
hands upon him when violent blow in
the face was received, and it was clear,
beyond controversy, that Terry never
voluntarily surrendered his bowie-knife
and that it was wrenched from him only
after violent struggle. The Court re-
marks that petitioner admits assaulting
the Marshal, but offers no apology for it
or for his vituperative language toward
| the Judges while under arrest"
-
ing in the petition which would justify
any remission of imprisonment. The
law imparts the intent to accomplish
when these acts are of criminal nature it
will no. accept, against such implication,
the denial of the transgressor."
The decision closed as follows "There-
fore, considering the enormity of the
offense committed, and the position
| the petitioner once held in this
State. which aggravates them to de-
gree not imputable to the generality of
offenders, the Court with proper regard
to its own dignity, and the majesty of the
law and the necessity of impressing upon
all men that forcible resistance to the
| lawful orders of the Court of United
States will not 60 unpunished, however
| high the offending parties, cannot grant
the prayer of the petitioner, and it is
accordingly denied"
Regarding the decision Judge Terry
said tonight: 81 expected that de-
| cision, and it was not my desire
that such petition should be pre-
sented to the Circuit Court, for 1
expected Judge Field would act just as
he has. If he had wanted to do what
was right he would have asked us to put
some witnesses upon the stand in sup
port of our petition.