Omaha daily bee., 1891-02-02
HARD WYOMING LEGAL POINTS
They Are Bought Out in the Trial Of
Nebraska Horse Thieves,
THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE WOMEN,
Can Criminals he Kidn aped from
one state by Officers from An.
other - Constitutional
Questions at Issue.

lngraham, who are charged in the district
court of Laramie county, Wyoming, with
being the principal members of band OF
cattle and horse thieves who have infested
the western portion of Nebraska and have
been engaged for the past two years in raid
ing cattle and horses belonging to Wyoming
stockmen are creating the most intense In
terest They are all residents OF ScotCs
Bluff county, Nebraska, having ranches and
farms about twelve miles from the eastern
boundary line of Wyoming and it is claimed
that the gang" have succeeded in the past
two years in running into the sand hills and
disposng of nearly one thousand head OF cat
tie belonging to Wyoming stockmen.
The authorities Of Laramie comfy secured
acquisitions for Mckinney and Brantner, but
In their hot pursuit OF Kingen they con-
sidered such legal formality unnecessary.
William Lyl<cns, the chief of the stock detec-
tlves of Wyoming, acting upon the advice of
the prosecuting attorney of Laramie county,
accompanied by a mob Of eleven armed men
went to the residence of Kengen in SCOTS
Bluff county and at the point of their guns
and pistols made him prisoner, kidnapped
him and placed him in Jail at Cheyenne lie
has just been tried and found guilty.
Hon. Henry St Rayncr of Sidney was tele-
graphed for and retained to defend the
prisoners. StOckmen from all portions of
Wyoming flocked into Cheyenne to be in at
tendance at the trials which have just closed
of Kingcn and Mckinney and tho old timers
generally state that no criminal cases have
ever been tried in Wyoming which have been
so stubbornly Y and ably fought and in which
so many abStruSe questions of constitutional
law have been raised. They promise on their
constitutional phrases TO be the most memor-
able which have been brought before the
| Wyoming courts.
THE KINGEN CASE.
st. Rnyner, counsel for Kingen, fled plea
| denying the jurisdiction OF the court in his
| case, setting forth his forcihle alb
| duction from Nebraska and alleging that the
| court had not acquired jurisdiction to try
| him upon n criminal charge, pleading that he
| had been deprived Of his liberty without due
| process of law, in contrOvcntiOn OF the four
| teenth amendment Of the constitution of the
| United States. The court overrulcd the
| plea. Counsel for defendant thereupon
moved an abatement of the indictment on the
| ground that the statutes of Wyoming dGiin-
ing the qualifications of grand and petit
| jurors Disseminated against the female citi-
| zens of the state aud provided that the male
| citizens only were eligible to act as jurors,
| which, he contended, was in conflict OF sec
| tion 3 Of article | of tho bill Of rights of
| Wyoming, which is rs follows:
Since the equality in the enjoyment of ma
| tural and civil rights is made sure only
through political equality. the laws of this
| state ANCctlng inc DOlltlcal rights ana Drl VII
| leges of its citizens shall be without distinc-
| tion of race, color sex or any circumsta or
condition whatsoever other than Individual
| incompeoncy or unworthincss duly ascer-
tanned by n court Of competent jurisdiction.
| The rights OF citizens of the state of Wyo-
| ming to vote and hold office shall not be de-
| MED or abridged on account of sex. Both
| male and female citizens of the state shall
| equally enjoy all civil, political and religious
| rights and privileges
| 1t was argued that under these clauses of
the constltu tion that any statute which dis
| criminated agnnSt female citizens acting as
| Jurors was in con trave ention OF the civil rights
| and privileges guaranteed therein to female
| citizens; and that the territorial statute in
| force at the time the constitution came into
| effect on July 10, 1890, limiting the quadca-
| tions of jurors to male citizens was uncon-
stitutlonal and void, and that the defendant,
in view of the clauses of the Fourteen tn
| amendment of the federal con stitution en-
titling citizens of the United States to the
| equal protection of the laws, and that no
state shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or tnmunitics of
citizens of the United States, nor de-
prive any person of life liberty or property
without due process of law, was thereby de-
prived OF right and privilege to be tried
only under Il statute which does not conflict
with the state constitution or its discrimna-
tion of those citizens who have been created
in every respect the peer of man by the guar
anteeS in the enjoyment of all civil, political
and religious rights and privileges. 1t was
not contended that defendant was entitled
to mixed jury of men and women, but that
he could not be legally and consttutionally
tried under a statute which discriminate d
against and prevented the drawing of women
because they were women.
| The court oyerruled the plea in abatement.
The defendant was tried aud convicted and
sentenced to eight years imprisonment
Mr. St Rayncr is preparing a petition IN
the case and will proceed directly to tn @
supreme court of the United States aud
pray for the issuance of writ
of habeaS corpus ON the ground
of the forcible abduction that the defendant
has been deprived Of his liberty without due
process IF law in violation of the federal
constitution and laws of the United States.
The decision of the federal court will be
looked for with great interest by the legal
fraternity throughout the entire country and
the authorities of the states generally, as ii
has never been passed upon by the supreme
court. aud will determine whether the au
thorities of state can forcibly abduct a
fugitive from justice from an asylum state
without the Intervention of requisition pro
ceedngs as provided by congressional enact
ment.
THE M'KINNEY CASE.
The same questions We're raised In the Nc
Kinney case with the exception OF the kid
napng. challenge to the array of the
| petit Jury also filed presents another fedora
question under the Fourtcent amendment
which seems to bo puzzling the minds o
the most eminent lawyers of the state
The territorial statutes provide for the draw
ing of the grand and petit jures by the com
missioners, clerk of the district court ant
two justices of the peace, and fixes the terms
of the supreme and district courts, which fo
this term of the district court were regularly
close; but the clause Of the constitution
section rs, article D, providing, Until th'
legislature shall provide by law for fixing the
terms of courts, the judges of the supremt
court and district courts shall fix the term
thereof caused the court to contend that tn
juries drawn by the aforesaid officers wer
unconstitutionally drawn, as the judges ha
not fixed the terms of court They there
upon met the next day and fixed the term L
be ON the same day as provided by the terri
torial statute, and Gpon the convening o
court, the court, upon Its own motion, sc
aside and discharged the regular panel 0
petit Jurors aud directed the sheriff by a
open venire to summon common law jury.
, The counsel for Mckinney contended tina
! this would not be done-that the clause of tn
constitution mentioned was a dead letter an
: imperative for the reason that the terms o
! court had not been abrogated by the adoI
ton of the state constitution and was still Il
force, and that he was entitled to be trie
only by jury regularly empanellcdunder tn
provisions of the statute-that the rcgula
panel could only be set aside by being chal
: ienged for cause, rperemptorlly, or by bein
excused by the court for disqualification
of and that the draw M of n com