The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-20
JUGGLING WITH JUSTICE,
Disappearance of a Felony
Complaint and Warrant
of Arrest.
J. H. LONG THE DEFENDANT.
They Are Supposed to Have Been
Stolen From Judge CampbelPs
Court.

An extraordinary thing happened in
Judge Campbell's court yesterday in the
shape of the disappearance of felony
complaint and the accompanying war
rant of arrest. The presumption is that
they were stolen, but by whom is a
mystery.
Yesterday morning Attorney Martin
Stevens appeared in court with James
Carroll of faro-bank fame. Stevens pro-
duced a complaint which was sworn to by
Carroll. The Judge signed the complaint
and warrants, and handed them to Clerk
O'Brien.
The complaint charges Attorney James
II. Long with felony embezzlement, the
amount being $500, and the warrant was
for his arrest. Judge Campbell fixed
Longs bonds at $1,000.
The trouble dates from the arrest of W..
E. Paulsell on April 49, 1894, for the rob-
berry OF Carroll and Weber's faro bank on
Market street. When Paulsell was searched
in his pockets. The money was trans
ferred to the custody of Property Clerk
Cullen.
AT Paulsell's preliminary examination
in the Police Court, Long appeared as
special prosecutor on behalf of Carroll and
Weber, and took charge of the case till
Paulsell was held to answer before the
Superior Court.
Carroll and Weber laid claim to the $780,
and on May 25. 1894, Long presented an
order to Property Clerk Cullen, signed by
Judge Wallace, for the money. 1t was
handed to him, with the exception of
| $40, which was retained as evidence and is
still in Cullen's possession. 1t is this $40
that Long was charged with having en-
| bezzled.
Shortly after Attorney Stevens and Car
roll left Judge Campbell's court. Attorney
Long made his appearance. He told the
Judge that there were no grounds for
| issuing the complaint. He had repaid $500
of the amount, and showed a receipt bear
ing out his assertion. The balance OF $500
he had retained to pay for his fees as
special prosecutor in the case of Paulsell.
He asked the Judge to delay the service of
| the warrant till this morning to give him
time to find sureties, to which the Judge
| consented.
In the afternoon it was discovered that
both complaint and warrant were missing.
cutting Attorney Forbes, and the Prosecut-
| ing Attorney said he returned them to
O'Brien.
Then O'Brien recollected that when he
went to lunch, after the court had adj
! journed at the noon hour, the COM
| plant and warrant were on TOD OF his desk.
| He locked the courtroom door, but when
he returned from lunch the door was IN
! locked.
| O'Brien did not miss the papers until
| some one asked to see them, and then he
could not find them. He came to the con-
| clusion that during the time he was at
lunch some one having key to the court
room door had entered and stolen the
papers, but who he was he was at a loss to
| imagine, as six or seven people were pos
sessed of keys that opened the door.
Judge Campbell said he had no idea of
what could have become of the papers
He was 10th to believe that they had been
stolen and thought O'Brien would yet find
them in one of the drawers of his desk.
When he signed the complaint he asked
Stevens, not knowing who the defendant
was, if the man was in town and Stevens
replied in the affirmative, adding that he
could easily be found. His first knowledge
that it was Long was when Long spoke to
him in court about it.
As there is neither a complaint nor a
warrant Long could not be arrested. 1t
remains to be seen whether Carroll will
swear to another complaint.