The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-09
THE NAGLE CASE.

The decision which the United States su-
preme court hands down in the case of
NAGLE, the deputy marshal who shot and
killed Judge DAVID S. TERRY in the railway
dining room at Lathrop, California, few
months ago, viii be full of interest to all
the states and to all the people in the
states. The question involved is a very
important one. It concerns Deputy NAGLE
little or nothing, for he is safe however the
decision may go; but it concerns the
states and the American people in their
rights as separate and distinct communities
for the purpose of local government. The
deputy was charged by his superior with
the duty of protecting the person of an as
sociate justice of the United States su-
preme court from assaults by certain per-
sons who had made threats against him:
NAGLE, in fact, was made the bodyguard of
Justice FIELD during the time the latter
was in California. Fhe propriety of the
appointment was open to discussion, there
being no specific law for it, and further
more the necessity for guarding the Judi
ciary against personal violence is some
thing Americans do not like to confess. In
this instance, as the result proved, the pre-
caution was a wise one; the Justice was
assaulted and the prompt action of his
bodyguard undoubtedly saved his life
as it was manifestly the intention
OF TERRY to kill kim. NAGLR prevented
one tragedy by making another, and for
tunately the right man was killed. I'm
fortunately, the proceedings from thai
point were, in our opinion, decidedly ir-
regular, and if they shall be approved and
sustained by the highest court in the re-
public, IL will be one more step, and a very
long one, towards the obliteration of state
lines and the concentration OF all power in
the federal government at Washington.
Briefly, the deputy was arrested by the
state authorities who were proceeding in
the regular way to inquire into the case
and see that justice be done; when a United
States judge interfered, claimed the
prisoner was United States officer. in the
performance Of a duty imposed by the
United States, to whom ne was alone
amenable; the state was held to have no
jurisdiction over the person of the deputy
and could notary him for the offense: the
local authority was barred from proceed
ing in the case, and was compelled to re-
lease the accused. 1t is to decide whether
or not the United States court in Califor
MIA was right that the supreme court at
Washington has been appealed to, and upon,
that decision much will depend. If the
opinion shall be that the state an
thorities had no right to 90 ahead
with the case, to what lengths NAV
not United States official go in violating
state laws! The statute that Deputy AGILE
violated was California statute; the kill
ing was done on California soil, and the
state was not lacking in ability to inquire
into the facts and mete out justice. If Cal
ifornia could not properly go ahead in that
case, what case could it proceed in where q
federal official was involveGs If the United
States can go into state and take from
the custody Of the local authority one of its
officials who kills a man, it can take from
the police court the official who steals
citizens watch, and if it can do this latter
what use is there for state governments
Why not erase state lines and administer
the laws directly from Washington!
1t is not to be understood by this that we
think Deputy NAeLE should be hanged, or
even punished for what he did His act
was, in our opinion, justifable if not
strictly commendable We do not believe
that any jury would have declared him
guilty of wrong-doing. But the state and
not the United States, should have passed
upon the case and given the man his dis
charge. The circumstance that it was
justice of the supreme court who was as
saulted can legitimately cut no figure in the
case. The principle involved would have
been the same if the assaulted person had
been United States commissioner or an
internal revenue collector.