Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1895-01-31
TWAS WELL SPICED.
A Ripple in Supreme Court
Yesterday.
There Is Discovered Hidden In q
Brief, Matter as Objectionable
as Dynamite

A ripple of interest whose undula-
tions were so pronounced that it might
almost be considered wave swep5 over
the monotonously even surface OF affairs
in supreme court yesterday.
simple order declaring it submitted
on briefs had just been entered in the
case of Hugh McCrum, plaintiff and
appellee. VS.. W. A. Daggs and P. P.
Daggs, defendants, and other inter-
venors and appellants.
The usual noon recess was taken. after
which the members of the court returned
and Chief Justice Baker speaking for the
court said that examination had been
made of the appellants reply brief ard
argument and it had been found to be
scurrilous and to contain insulting and
offensive language toward the oppes-
| ing counsel, litigant and witnesses. It
WAS therefore ordered that The brief
be withdrawn, that it be stricken from
the files and that the records be purged
OF it.
| The document is a formida BILE one
both in magnitude and matter and the
signatures of appellants attorneys. z.
E. Sloan, l.. H. Chalmers, II. T. Zuck
and A. j. Daggs are appended thereto.
The chief justice speaking further of
it said that it might easily be construed
to be contempt of the court He had
been pleased to learn that in the case of
Judge Sloan, former mem ber OF the
court, information had been received
that he was not aware Of its character.
Disclaimers were also entered either n
person or by friends of MessrE. Chal-
mers and Zuck, so that the author
ship was narrowed down to Mr.. Dagss,
who has thereby gone on record as
forcible writer with strong tendency
toward sarcasm.
The case is one growing out OF the
failure of the Daggs Bros. last summer:
subsequently McCrum brought action
against the defendants appellants and
| intervenors on mortgage, ard iude-
ment was rendered him.
The first twenty Of the forty pr ted
pages OF the brief are devoted to
careful search for weak places III the
enemies harness. The document
bristle with authorities and runs along
again in free ard easy and even Aip-
pant but not entirely reprehe nsi bic
manner for half its length. There may
be matter in it even up to that point
which some lawyers could have purpose
ly omitted, hut the first thing which
would strike the mind of lay man as
being incongruous ia the following ex-
preston closing description of q
fraudulent purpose entertained by the
appellee: "Harness this old ringer
(McCrum) and warm him up nv couu-
sci. then shove him urdar the wire in
shafts with his running mate, his agent
and dete ctive Tom Saith ard ii they
don't cover the case, no use locking in
Arizona coil to find pair that CAM
This was deemed to he not only sour
rillous as to McCrum, but disrespectful
toward Mr.. Smith. With whose name
great economy or muIilation bad been
practiced. By reason of election to the
upper house in the Seventeenth legisls-
ture and useful work in i Hir. Smith
is known as Hon. W. T. Smith. This
language not only lops off the title, but
at the same fell stroke eliminates one
Christian name and makes two ex-
cisions in another, leaving it plain
Tom" Il was brief, indeed. Be-
eide this 2ce2rlt upe1 NJ o,-c:th e
cognomen An attack is made upon his
reputation In the other twenty pages
of the document he is accused of pre-
varication.
In speaking OF certain evidence aa-
duced IN favor of the appellee, the brief
says: This fell free from the factory
of Thomas" Herndon and John"
Norris" Passing over the insinuatioH
that Messrs. Herndon and Norris unite