People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1897-01-22
AS to Pfecedsnts.
"W. Y. CARTER. y

the special committee iron tbs houss
which is trying Judges Sweat and
Reese, nearly all precedents in Eng,
land, the United States and Georgia
go to show that our present commit
lee is acting in many ways without
precedent or authority. Under all
precedents, and laws in such cages,
should either of these judges be i'm
peached, they must be tried before
the senate Of Georgia Therefore,
in permitting or compelling Senator
Carter to appear as the prosecutor in
fact. and the prosecuting officer be-
fore the committee, Ghe committee
SO disqualified one Of the members
Of the senate from sitting in the pos
sible trial of said judges, It is as if
judge had been taken from the
bench and made to prosecute the &C.
cused, over whose destinies the law
requires him to preside. Then, too,
usually in such cases, the house acts
as a grand jury, brings articles of
impeachment purely on ex parte
hearings, which the senate tries.
Notably in the case Of Warren Hast
ings. The house Of commons
brought the articles Of impeachment
and the house OF lords tried them.
In this country, when Andrew
johnson was tried before the, senate,
the house Of representatives. brought
the articles of impeachment, whicn
were based on evidenoe obsained by
questioning only the witnesses for
the United States. I ana informed
that such was the case when Judge
Pickering was triad for drunkenness
SIS q United States judge.
In Georgia, when tho Goldsmith
and Renfroe trial was or, the house
Representatives appointed COM
fnittae like the one now acting, and
C. D. Phillips was ifs chairman. The
committee followed the preeadents
above referred to, sat behind closed
doors like grand jurys and defend
ants were not allowed TO introduce
witnesses, file answers or have conn
sci before this committee. The COM
mittee formulated charges and speci-
faations upon evidence obtained in
this ex parte manner, which were re-
ported to the house Of representa-
tives, and that body referred them
to special committee, which drafted
the articles Of impeachment, upon
which Goldsmith was tried before
the senate Of Georgia. Defendants
were not allowed hearing at all IN.
til they reached tho senate. And in
all these cages the popular branch of
government appointed managers for
the prosecution from among their
own members. The house Of COM
mons in the Hastings case, appointed
Burke, Fox and Sheridan, as menu
bers of the house OF commons to H.
vestigate charges and draft the ar.
tioles of impeachment, aud prosecute
the accused before the house of
lords. In the Goldsmith and Rem
froe cases, the Georgia house Of rep
resentadves appointed 9. D. Phil
lips, Fl. G. Turner and W. NJ. Ham
mond, all Of whom were members Of
the house Of representatives., and
come Of whoaA were members OF the
special committee, to prosecute the
defendants before the senate of
Georgia.
In the trial Of Andrew johnson,
instead of calling on the attorney
general to prosecute the president
(ay our committee called on Joe
Terrell to prosecute these judges,
the attorney general of the United
States was found defending Andrew
johnson before the senate OF the
United States. The fact is, Mr..
Terrell would have been subject to
impeachment himself if he had pros
ecutod These judges, for it would
have been without authority or law
The only possible precedent that
this committee can DO acting under
is that set up in the trial Of Judge
Fort, of Georgia, in 1928. The spe-
cial committee (without precedent or
specially delegated authority as
saned the right to let the defendants
be heard before them. But there
is no record in that oasa that said
hearing was public, CT that q senator
was allowed to prosecute. In the
Fort case itself q motion to allow the
defendant TO come before the bar Of