The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-08-20

man to look after the person of Associate
Justice Field. If such a contingency had
arisen that his life was in danger, the
proper thing to have done was to have
Judge Terry arrested. Blackstone very
plainly LAYS down the law on this subject.
| In the defense of ones self, every member
of family, wife, brother, father or sister,
! a man has perfect right to employ all ne
cessary resources, even to the taking OF
| life In this case, II seems to me, Maggie
greatly exceeded his authority. He had no
more right under the law to shoot Judge
Terry than l had"
! Mr.. William T. Webb, ex-commissioner
of the district and one of the Oldest prac-
titioners at the Washington bar, said: MY
opinion of the killing of Judge Terry by
| Deputy Marshal Maggie is that it was en-
! tireIy uniustifiable. The proper course
would have been to arrest Terry the very
moment any act of violence was committed
on the person of Associate Justice Field. L
| think Nagle exceeded his authority. The
mere fact of shooting down man for com
hitting an assault on some one else is not
| justified in law. A man may he suspected
| of killing, which is a penitentiary otfense,
and when he is known to be desperate
man, the circumstances for such an overt
action might be iustiiable l cannot see
how Maggie can be excused. 1t may have
been that the threats of Judge Terry
against the life of Associate Justice Field
were of such a nature as to justify the at
torney- general to use proper precautions
| to see that the administration ofjustlce was
not interfered with. | don't imagine that
there can be any doubt on that point; but
the killing a man for Shaping the face of
another man is rather serious business.
| Maggie was not relative of Associate US
tice Field; he was not assaulted, and yet he
shot down man in cold blood Cor Shaping
] ~ 70, r.,Nf, NFnsD nIs 10 n
in the wrong and should have arrested
Terry, and thus have avoided this terrible
! tragedy"
General r. D. Mussey, another leading
! LAWYER. said: 81 think the attorney-gen-
eral had perfect legal right to send an at
tendant with Justice Field if he contem-
plated an interference with the courts Of
| Justice. 1 am not sufficiently acquainted
with the administration of the laws in Cali
fornia to express any decided opinion on the
subject. l cannot see, however, on what
ground Nagle was justified III shooting
down Judge Terry Fully three-fourths of
the community in California will be glad to
hear of the death of Judge Terry, but l
question if the manner in which it was
brought about will stand jury. l think
Maggie exceeded his authority; he had no
right to shoot down a man for a mere as
sault, and especially when it was not com
mitted upon himself"
Mr. William Miller, Judge of police court,
said: ''There is no possible legal defense
for the action of Maggie. Judge Terry did
not slap his face, and his committing an
assault upon Associate Justice Field was
no Justification for taking human life.
Even under the most iustifable circum-
stances it is in itself most terrible affair.
In this case, it looks to me as nothing short
of murder"
Mr.. James Greer said: ~ think under
the circumstances that the killing of Judge
Terry was certainly justifable. He had
time and again threatened the life of
Justice Field and was known throughout
the state of California as a desperate
character. The recent adverse decision
against his wife in the Sharon case had no
doubt angered him to such an extent that
his threats against the life of the judge had
already alarmed the lauter's friends. That
it was of some import was shown by At
torney-General Miller telegraphing that
Justice Field be given the fullestprotection
of the law.
''When all the facts are brought out and
the reason given for the precautionary
measures adopted, l don't think there is a
jury in the country that would convict
Nagle."