The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-05-15
AFTER Mr.. COOPER.
Supreme Court Will Be Asked to
Cite Attorney General.
LAWYERS BEHIND PETITION
Charge the Official with "MaIprac-
tIce," etc-A Statement of Facts.
Entire ControI of Case.

1T is with a feeling of the firmest
confidence that | place this matter be-
fole the Supreme Cour: of the coun-
try" said Attorney y. S. Humphreys
on Saturday, when questioned with re-
lati0n TO the proceedings it had been
reported he was about to institute
against Attorney-General Cooper. Mr.
Humphreys was found engaged in the
WORK of comparing his manuscript
copy with a typewriter copy of the
complaint against the head # the legal
department of the Republic. "This
document will be filed in a couple of
days." said Mr.. Humphreys, Ind then
the press can secure it from the rec
ords of the court. The papers cannot
be given out for publication except
through the regular channel"
Mr.. Humphreys is one of a number
of attorneys interested in the petition
which will, it is believed, ask that the
Attorpey-General be disqualified as a
practitioner here. While Mr.. Hum
phreys is the principal in the mat
ter, the case will be presented to the
Justices of the Supreme Court by At
torney w. A. Kinney.
1t is complained of the Attorney
General that he wrongfully and in a
most arbitrary manner sought to con-
troll and really did control the two
sides of a case in which an employee
of the Finance Department of the Gov
eminent was defendant.
A tax collector, it was charged,
used unnecessary force in making the
arrest of a Chinaman alleged to be de-
linquent for personal taxes. This Pake
is a servant Of Acknowledgement At
kinson. The latter caused the Pake to
the agent of the tax bureau Mr.. At
klnson came to doubt the propriety Of
appearing in a case against a Govern
ment official, and retained Mr.. Hum
phreys to prosecute the tax collector.
Mr.. Damon, Minister of Finance, called
upon the legal branch of the Govern
mept to provide a defense for the tax
bureau agent. Acknowledgement Coop
er assigned Mr. Weber, his stenog-
rapher and office man and a member
of the bar to the case. Just before the
trial came on Mr.. Humphreys protest
ed against the appearance of the At
torney- representative on
both sides of the case. MI Humphreys
was told by Marshal Brown that of he
(Humrhrevs) made his point to the
court that he (Brown) would use his
authority and dismiss Humphreys from
the case. This Brown did at the in
stance or direction Of Minister Cooper,
and Humphreys was forced to go into
the case, prosecuting an employe of
the Government upon unusual terms
stipulated and forced by the Attorney
General. This is called in the COM
plant malpractice, etc. The tax col
lector, prosecuted by Mr.. Humphreys,
who had been retained by Deputy At
torney-General Atkinson and defended
by Mr.. Weber, from the Attorney-Gen-
erals office, was convicted of an as
sault and fined.
Attorney-General Cooper says that
while it is correct that Mr.. Weber is
an attache of the office Of the Attorney
General, that Mr. Waber's appearance
in this case was not made in that ca
pacity, and that Mr.. Weber so stated
at the hearing. Other than this Mr..
Cooper gives the version Of the coun-
sci features of the case presented
above There is some street talk On
the matter. and number Of attorneys
| comment freely in the line Of sharp
criticism on the course Of Attorney
General Cooper in the case.
An attorney who is engaged upon
| important cases every day of the year
said of the Cooper-Humphreys affair:
| Humphreys is right and the Attorney
! General Will at least be reprimanded
The officials course was high-hande6
! and in bad form. It has been the Gus
tom in the past for the Attorney-Gen-
eraI. in a matter Of this sort, to permit
independent outside counsel to act I'M
hampered."