Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1893-01-13
Schneider Refused a New Trial

/
In General Term of the Supreme Court Of
the District of Columbia on Monday the
motion for new trial on exceptions and
the appeal in the celebrated case of How
ard j. Schneider, who is sentenced to hang
on the Goth of January for the murder OF
his wife, were overruled. All the counsel
in the case were present when the decision
was announced and an attentive crowd
| filled the court room. Judge Cox read the
opinion of the Court, which was a review
of all the points made by the counsel for
the defense. He said the technical objection
to the fact that the indictment does not
| name the place at which the crime was COM
mitted, except to specify "the county and
District aforesaid" referring to the words
"District Of Columbia, county of Washing
ton" in the caption, was he'd to be no error.
The fixing OF the trial at time not long
subsequentIto the crime, and when, as the
counsel for the defense averred, the entire
community was prejudiced against the &C.
cused, it was declared in the opinion, could
not be passed upon by the court upon ap-
peal because the question could no: be de-
cided by testimony, but must necessarily be
left to the discretion of the court. 1t was
considered that all the jurors who tried
Schneider were entirely competent under
the law Of the District.
| An examination of the testimony given,
it was further stated in the opinion, had sat
isfled the court that the jurors to whom ex
ception had been made held no disqualify-
ing views. In the Chicago anarchists case
it had been determined that an opinion
! formed from reading statements, which still
left the jury able and willing to give an i'm
partial verdict, was not disqualifying
opinion, and the Supreme Court had held
that the statute under which the ruling was
made was not repugnant to the constitu.
tional guarantee of trial by impartial jurors.
The court below had refused to accept
twenty jurors whose statements showed
them incompetent and evidenced the care
which was exercised in the selection Of the
jury The motion to discharge the jury
because of alleged false statements of i'm
Partially on the part OF two jurors had been
met by atildavits of denial on the part of
those Jurors, which settled that phase of the
case.
The exception to the admission of the
dying declaration of Mrs. Schneider, it was
also decided, had been met by proof that the
declaration was made in expectation of i'm.
mediate death and was therefore admissible.
The court had not rs was insisted by the
defense, given more weight to his wife's
dying declaration than to the evidence of
other witnesses. AS to the question of self
defense, the testimony showed that the jury
had no choice but to find either that the
defendant had intentionally shot his wife or
that she had been accidentally shot by her
brother, so that the question OF self defense
had no place in the exceptions.
The court held that the admissions and
reflections of testimony made by Judge Brad
ley were entirely in accordance with the
law. The court below, 1t was decided, had
not erred IN its rulings on the prayers nor
in calling the attention of the jury TO Ger.
tain portions Of the evidence in the case
Counsel for Schneider gave notice Of an
application to the Supreme Court of the
United States for writ of error This will
have the effect of postponing the hanging
of Schneider beyond the day fixed in the
original sentence.