Los Angeles herald., 1890-05-06
Many Important Matters Be-
fore the Departments.
Clients, Judges, Lawyers, Civil
and Criminal Cases.
Col. H. H. BOyce, ON His ExtOrtiOn
Case, Again on Trial.
A 100000 Damage Suit Against Street
Railway Company on Trial Before
Judge Van Dyke.

H. II. Boyce, whilom of the Tribone,
charged with extortion in attempting to
get $3.50 from Justice Theodore Savage
to keep story out of the papers. The
case was tried in the middle of last
March, resulting in the disagreement of
the jury, it being reported that at one
time it lacked only one vote to find a
verdict of guilty. At length on Sun
day night the jury was discharged, the
defendant not being present.
When the case was called Yesterday
morning Judge Fitzgerald, counsel for
the defense, raised the contention that
his client ought to be discharged finally,
he having been once in jeopardy,
and it being error to discharge
jury, the defendant being absent and
not consenting. During the debate the
statement was made that Mr.. Fitzgerald
at the time had consented to the action
of the court, but the attorney stated
that this was misstatement of the
facts. He said he had not objected to
the discharge of the jury at that time,
leaving the matter entirely to the court.
These, he said, were his explicit state
the court on the point with the result
that Judge Shaw upheld him.
Deputy District Attorney Hardesty ad-
dressed himself to the task of showing
that it was not a case where the once in
jeopardy theory applied and argued that
the defendant not being in the custody
of the Sheriff, but out on bail, he was
the master of his own actions that a
District Attorney could not get him to
be in court against his will except on
a bench warrant.
After discussion it was decided that
the defendant be allowed to amend his
answer to the complaint in such a man
ner as to admit this plea as new is
sue in the case and let the whole matter
go to the jury for final jurisdiction. 1t
is rather an unusual proceeding, as the
facts are all admitted, and it seems
to be question purely of law
whether Colonel Boyce has been in
jeopardy or not. When the case is
again submitted to the jury, of course,
the District Attorney will ask for ex-
plicit instructions on this point from the
court, and the verdict is likely to hinge,
to some extent, on these instructions.
This matter being so disposed of, the
work of securing jury was begun. 1t
took good deal of sitting to get men
who had not read about the case in the
papers. Nearly every man had read
pretty full reports of the former trial
and had made up his mind to some ex-
tent. Whenever it cropped out what bias
there was in the mind of juror it
was almost universally fact that the
opinion so formed was unfavorable to
the defendant. A good many citizens
t5 4 +1o
two or even three of the papers, but
stated that they did not pay much at
tention to what they read in the columns
of their favorite journals. 1t was note
worthy fact that none of the people who
had so much disregard for the utter
ances of the press, read the HERALD. A
number of men were found who had
read the trial as it was reported in the
HERALD, and in all cases these citizens
stated that they had received pro-
found impressions from the reports,
that they believed what they
read, and were SO possessed
of bias that it would be difficult to
change their minds as to what they had
concluded. They said they would try
to weigh ali the evidence fairly; but
struggle as they might, they thought it
probable that their preconceived impress
sions would remain to a greater or less
extent.
So many jurors were being excused
because they had read the HERALD that
the court took the matter in hand and
began to question the men who were
guilty of believing what they read in
their morning paper, with the result
that he denied the motion to excuse
the jurors. Mr.. Hardesty would
have secured at least two excellent men
to try his case, but he went into further
probing of their feelings as to the de-
fendant, and the court reconsidered his
decision and excused the prisoners.
With all these difficulties it took some
time to secure twelve men to try the
case. At last about o'clock the follow
ing had been selected:
G. d. Kellogg, N.Snodgrass, M. Morris,
j. Crissman, Frank McCurrie, John
Franklin, A. Hickok, w. H. Simmons,
Wildasin, H. T. Hollingsworth.
Before this result had been reached
there had been excused J. H. Clancy,
Henry Gibbs, Joseph Anon, F. Lam
bourne, E. p Humphreys, w. M.
Childs, G. T. Brown, B. Chadsey, w. A.
Baxter, T. Comphefner, J. H. Burke,
VIM. Frankel, w. Declez. Most of these
were challenged by the defense and for
cause. Several more were excused by
the defense on peremptory challenge,
and one or two the prosecution had no
use for
The jury being secured, O. A. Stevens
who at the time the alleged offense is
said to have been committed was city
editor of the Tribune was called. He re-
lated much as before how General Boyce
told him to look into the truth of story
floating around the streets about Theo-
dore Savage, and about messages he
carried back and forth between Boyce
and Henry Johnston, constable in
Savage's court.
Damages in $4,000 Asked.
In Department Judge Van Dyke was
busy yesterday hearing the case of James
M. Sappenfeld against the Main Street
q Agricultural Park railway. He wants
$4,000 damages for injuries sustained
while in the employ of the company.
He was driver on the cars, and on the
22d of November 1888, he was driving
car No. 4 along Main street between
Ninth and Tenth about O'Clock in the
evening. He alleges that he was driv-
ing very fractions and unmanageable
horse furnished by the company; that
furthermore the min holding the Whiffie-