Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1892-12-23
HEARD IN COURT.
Some Experiences of Lawyers as
Related to q assKepub1ican''
Reporter.

Some Experiences of Lawyers as
Related to q ssIsepublican''
Reporter.
From the Williamsport Republican.
What District Attorney Reilly OF
Lycoming county has to say regard
ing the disposal of court costs by
jorors:
"There is," said Dist. Atty. Reilly,
day two or ago, 81 admit, much
objection found to the law that
makes it possible for jury to find a
man, accused of crime, not guilty
and yet put the costs of the trial OF
the case on him. But it is some
times pretty good law. A short
time ago, for instance, was pres
sing the charge of desecrating a
grave against man. The case was
something like this: Two children
of poor man in the city died and
he was without means to purchase a
burial lot in the cemetery. A neigh
Dor appreciating his condition came
to him and generously informed
him that he could bury the bodies
of the little ones in his lot at one of
the city cemeteries. The offer was
accepted and the bodies of the poor
mans children were placed at rest
in the lot of his generous neighbor.
A few years later the generous heart
ed man died and his body was placed
at rest in the same lot with the re-
mains of the children. A few
months later son of the lot owner
notified the father of the dead chill
dren that he wanted him to take the
bodies of his d brats out of that
lot within "a hours or he would
take them out for him. The man
was yet poor and unable to stand
the expense of the removal of the
bodies. He plead for little time
but few days later was informed
by neighbor that the son told him
that he had removed the bodies OF
the two children from his lot. The
poor man hurried to the cemetery
where he found evidences of the re-
moval of the remains of his children.
Hurrying then to the aon of his
benefactor he asked him if he had
removed the bodies. The son re-
spopded that he had, and added that
he had thrown the bodies to the
hogs.
The grief stricken man had the
young man arrested charged with
desecrating the graves, and Mt the
trial of the case the facts as re-
lated were presented by the Com
monwealth as the evidence upon
which it hoped to sustain convic.
ton. The defendant thereupon
denied that he had disturbed the
bodies Of the children, and the sex
ton of the cemetery testified that he
had that very morning examined
the graves and found the bodies un-
| disturbed"
''Of course we couldn't hope to
convict the man after that. 1t
would be impossible. But the jury
put the costs on the wretch, and tell
you there was not a man in the court
house who did not feel like thanking
God that there was law that made
it possible to find a man not guilty
and yet put the costs on him."
This saying Of District Attorney
Reilly of Lycoming county should
be weighed well and digested by
Sullivan county tax payers who
serve as jurors, and in place of put
ting the costs of petty cases on the
Commonwealth, they should heap it
upon either the plaintiff or defendant
in the case. This would have a
tendancy of lessening the number
of petty cases brought before our
courts, and the large amount of
county money now used in defray-
ing and paying witnesses and jury
fees Of such cases-oould be dedi-
Gated toward paying off the coun-
ty's Indebtedness. 1t appears very
funny to us, that our tax payers
should complain Of the Indebtedness
of the county and by their verdicts
ut court increase the burden ten
foI1