Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-28
Decision of Justice Bradley Affecting
Police Case.
COMMITMENT OF A SUSPICIOUS PERSON
The Act Imposing Penalty Cannot
Be Enforced.
RELEASE OF PRISONE

Judge Bradley discharged George Frazier,
colored. from the custody of the workhouse
officials today on a writ of habeas corpus.
Frazier was tried in the Police Court sew
eral days ago, and was committed to the
Workhouse as a suspicious character.
The decision of Judge Bradley is that the
law, so far as suspicious person Is con-
cerned, cannot be judiciously enforced. 1t
is, therefore, rendered imperative.
This decision is of considerable import
ance to the local authorities, especially to
the members of the police department, and
1t may have effect upon the detectives in
their work of picking up alleged pick
pockets and holding them as alleged 'sus-
piciOus persons
George Frazier, colored, a stranger in the
city, was arrested in South Washington
about two weeks ago by Detectives Peck
and Miller, and held in custody because he
had disposed of a quantity of new clothing
to secondhand stores. His claim was that
he bought the clothing at sales in different
cities and came here for the purpose of
opening store. After arriving here he
changed his mind, he said, and sold some
OF the goods. The officers took about $500
Wort, OF new clothing from his room and
neld II Tor Identification Nobody having
ldehthed the property, the accused man
was taken into the Police Court and tried.
Sentence Imposed.
Judge kimball heard the case and SEN
fenced Frazier to pay a fine of $40 or to
serve four months in the workhouse. Then
Attorneys w. Calvin Chase, Thos. L. Jones
and Peril w. Frisby sought to get their
client released. They resorted to the Su-
Freme Court of the District and writ of
habeaS corpus, issued by Judge Bradley,
was argued by them yesterday. Attorney
Duvall and Assistant Attorney Sinclair
argued the case for the District
The petition filed in support of the writ
alleged that Frazier had been tried on an
information charging him with being a
suspicious person. and declared that his
detention was unlawful and that he was
heid without right principally because the
evidence did not justify the conviction.
Filed in the case was a copy of the com
mitment, which showed that the petitioner
mad been convicted of a charge of being a
suspicious character" At the hearing it
was claimed that the information was in
sufficient, because it charged the offense
merely in The words of the statute and it
was declared the warrant of commitment
was defective because it did not follow
the wording in the information.
In deciding the matter Judge Bradley
SAID he could not consider the questions
touching on the sufficiency of the informa-
ton or the evidence, as the holding of the
judge of the Police Court on these uues-
tons is final. Looking into the whole mat
ter the judge was of the opinion that the
law imposing a penalty upon an individual
% Il suspicious person IS ambiguous ana
indefinite, and that it cannot be enforced
NariOusIy Interpreted.
The words "a suspicious person." the
judge held, are susceptible of an infinite
variety of interpretations, which may vary
according to the mental bent or the ex-
perience Of the party seeking to interpret
1t. The statute, the judge said, gives no
definition of the words, and the offense it
self IS unknown to the common law.
her 1nr1tir he ha-
fore the court, Judge Bradley explained
how the prosecution of persons under such
a charge might be made matter of OPP
preston. A man might be arrested merely
because somebody suspected him of being
"suspiCiOus," when he had really committed
no act in violation of law. There is moth
ing tangible about such an alleged offense,
he said and in a prosecution there must be
proof that the person charged has COM
mitted some act. Under such a charge no
mans liberty would be safe.
After FraZiers discharge he went to
police headquarters with his counsel and
the goods that had been procured from his
room, as well as the pawn tickets taken
from his pockets, were turned over to him