Arizona republican., 1895-07-24
IT LEAKED. A Judicial Affair That Wouldn't Hold Water No Record of a Prison
 CTS Conviction. A Docket Carried Around in a Hat Is Not Recognized. Another Case In Which a Defendant Is Convicted on Sunday and
 Without Evidence.

J peace with legal formalities unlocked the doors of the county jail to James Fennison yesterday. Fennison was sent down by Justice Allen of Agua Fria precinct for thirty days for an assault upon Redmond Toohey a week ago. The commitment was unusual and defective and application was made by Attorney J. c, Kellum last Monday to Commissioner Jordan for writ of habeas corpus. The writ was ordered to issue and was made returnable to- morrow.
 Justice Allen happened to be in the city yesterday and the hearing was reset for the afternoon. The comnit- ment though it's defects were undis- puted could have been cured and would have still been of sufficient force to hold the prisoner Tn jail. It transpired though in the hearing that the case had not been docketed, that in fact the jus tice who had been only recently ap- pointed had not procured docket and that the only legal record of the pro- ceedings was memorandum made by the justice, to be afterward transcribed in docket.
 Under this arrangement, together with the defective commitment, in the event of the sudden death of the justice, the prisoner might have found himself in the position of life prisoner in the county jail. The failure to docket the case was admitted by Acting District Attorney Bennett to be>.fatsl and Fen nison was discharged.
 A release on habeas corpus on or dinary defects in papers from justices courts is seldom obtained in this ju- diclal district. The court has sn- nounced that justice shall not be made | the loser by the circumstance that few justices of the peace are lawyers. If the limitations prescribed by the statutes were rigid, not one prisoner in ten sent in from the rural precincts could be retained.
 Speaking of the free and easy manner in which business is transacted in many justices courts, a funny thing happened last Sunday. A religious congregation less than twenty miles from Phoenix had been long and sys- tematically disturbed by an organlza- ton of hoodlums. The distur bances were not SO outbreaking as to lead easily to the detection of the disturbers and for that very reason were perhaps more annoying. Last Sunday morni ing there was trouble again and soon after the conclusion of the services and the departure of the congregation a young man suspected of having had 8 part in the disturbance was arrested by con. stable. On being immediately brought before the nearest justice of the peace, the young man denied his guilt and demanded trial.
 The justice decided to give it right away; no day was too good for good deed. But there were no witnesses. The persons who might have testified against the young man had gone home and SO no evidence was taken.
 "Well, somebody" said the justice, 'has been giving us good deal of trouble. l believe you're guilty; any way Pm going to break this gang oi hoodlums and I'll make an example of you. I'll fine you $5."
 The defendant accepted the punish ment and asked the justice to permit an officer to accompany him to the house of his employer after the money.
 While they were gone the justice re- ceived nudge" and on the return oi the officer and prisoner that legal pro- ceeding called ''rescission" occurred