The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-04-19
CARTER's LAWYERS ANGRY
Counsel ForArmy officer saysGovern-
ment-s Brief Is "Scandalous."

Washington, April 1e-In the United
States supreme court Judge J. NJ. VII
son, representing Captain Oberlin NJ. j.
Carter, fled a motion for the court to
strike from it's files the brief of Solicitor
General Richards in that case as scan
dalOus and irrelevant" This motion IS
based upon the assertion that the solicit
tor general goes outside of the record in
his brief
IN the course of his statement in sup
port of the motion. Judge Wilson sail
that the only question is whether the
court martial that tried Captain Carter
on certain charges and specifications
had Jurisdiction to impose the penalty of
imprisonment, to which he is now being
subjected in the penitentiary at Leaven-
worth Kan
He then says he had not considered it
necessary to cite authorities on the
question as to whether a proceeding in
habeaS corpus can be used as a writ of
error or appeal. Hence there was no ef-
fort to secure a review of the case by
the court He then takes up the solici-
tor generals brief, saying:
The solicitor general, in his brief in
opposition, has taken occasion to make
some very broad assertions in regard to
the guilt of Captain Carter not based
upon any matters appearing in the rec
ord, but apparently based upon matters
appearing in some other proceeding in
New York before a commissioner, TO
which proceeding Carter was in no way
a party, and also, upon his own allega-
tions, that the government had discov-
cred evidence which would demonstrate
that Carter and others had defrauded
the government of SS.169, 159 and that
Carter had personally attended to the
division of this money between himself
and others, and he enters upon a dis
cription of the manner in which this di-
vision was made.
s'HoW the solicitor general got these
al
he does not say, and upon what legal
principle he would attempt to justify the
interjectiOn of matters of this kind in a
proceeding of this character, it is i'm
possible to conceive ! venture 70 say
that he viii not pretend that the mat
ters to which allusion has been made
We're ever procured in any proceeding
wherein Captain Carter had an oppor-
tunity to be heard.
In view of this broad denunciation
of Captain Carter by the solicitor gen
eral, upon assertions of facts not found
in am record to which Captain Carter
was in any wise a party, and with ref
erence to matters not before this court
and which have nothing whatever to do
with the question that is before the
court, / trust that 1 may, without
transcending the bounds of propriety,
state shat Captain Carter denies the
truth of these statements, asserts that
he is innocent of the offense with which
the solicitor general charges him, and
that he is ready, willing and anxious to
try the question as to whether he is or
is not guilty of having conSpired
against the government and en- bezzled
it's moneys before any civil tribunal.
anywhere and at any time that the
government will afford him an oppOr-
tunlty to be heard. and challenges the
government to afford him such an op-
portunity.
If the government knows, or believes
it knows, what the solicitor general has
stated. alluded to above. there can be
no difficulty IN having this matter of
his guilt or innocence of these charges
determined by a tribunal that would
have full jurisdiction and guided ky
rules that have been long established
for the furtherance of justice.
4 respectfully submit this brief pa
per because 1 thought would not be do
ing my duty towards Captain Carter if
I permitted these most extraordinary
statements, made in this most unusual
way. to stand upon the files OF this
court unchallenged. and 1 therefore
move the court to strike the brief of
the solicitor general from the files as ir-
and scandalous."
The court took the motion under adj
ViSpnanf