Evening star., 1902-02-22
Rich Men Seldom Convicted
in New York.
EXPERT WITNESS ABUSE
PATRICK AND MOLINEUX CASES
COST CITY $35o,oOo
Marked Difference in Cases Where the
Defendants Have but Little
Means.

Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, February 81. 1902.
For the past five weeks a brainy lawyer
with bulging brow has been on trial over
here for the alleged murder. by chloroform-
ing, of an aged Texan, said to have been
worth 15OOO,OOO. The alleged murderer is
also under indictment on the accusation OF
having forged the old mans name to
will which he. the prisoner, had carefully
framed up. making himself the resduary
legatee of the estate. 1t Is estimated by
counsel for the defense that at least an
other month will be consumed in the trial.
and perhaps six weeks. At the office of the
district attorney they compute that the trial
Is going to cost about $4,000 of the tax
payers money.
The trial room is cluttered with hand
writing experts, so-called, nearly every one
of whom fatty contradicts the conclusions
of his predecessor on the stand, and by
chemical sharps, who smile sardonically and
wearily at the statements made by each
other. A large number of these alleged eX-
perts derive large incomes from giving
expert" testimony in these cases. Their
fees are something huge, and 1t has been
proven time and again that. even when 1t
has been shown that their expert work
amounted to nothing al all, they know how
to pull the political strings in such way
as to get their big bills O. X. d with scarce
1y any bother at all.
Case Illustrates Glass Law Methods.
This case is pretty good illustration of
the class law and justice which is dished
out in this community, and Of the manner
with which certain capital trials are cir
cussed in New York. Any number of un-
fortunates are tried and condemned to the
chair in New York with scarcely any al,u-
sion to their cases in the newspapers.
John Smith. who killed his wife a couple
Of months ago, was tried yesterday and
convicted. He will be sentenced next Fri
day" This is about the extent of the fam
fare which is made over the case OF John
Smith. Plenty of murderers and alleged
murderers are tried and sent along to their
fates In the courts of New York within the
space Of two days, and numerous cases
have been up during the past five years
wherein such trials have only lasted one
day. And not few of these capital cases,
handled with such rapidity and pushed
through in such comparative obScurity,
have been every bit as worthy the pro-
tracted deliberation of jnries, have hinged
with just as much fragility on crcumstan-
tal evidence, have presented just as many
elements of reasonable doubt, as these
called 'important' cases that are spread
over six weary weeks or couple of months
that cost the community an amount APP
proximating or exceeding six figures. and
that are taken up by the New York news
papers and interminably gabbied over.
When one looks carefully into this matter
for the purpose of ascertaining il any
sons exist for the prevalence OF such con-
ditions. he is pretty certain to find that the
circussed. longdrawn-out cases, Wherin pre-
ternatural solemn experts" figure to their
own great profit and to the general contempt
of the public. are invariably those in which
the defendants are either in the possession
of large means or have relatives possessed
To thn
cipents of money in case of their acquital.
Trial Will Cost City $15O,oOo.
If this lawyer whose trial is going to
cost New York $l50.OOO succeeds in getting
cleared-and it seems to be the general
opinion that his case has been so skilfuliy
handled as to preclude the possibility of
convction-the forgery charge against him
will fall to the ground, for his acquital will
necessarily. it is said. be pronouncement
in favor of the alleged forged will. and he
will be in more than fair way to claim
about $5.OOO.O00 of the estate left by the
old man he is alleged to have chloroformed
to death.
The thing can be traced back systemati
cally for many years. and in every case.
with not a single exception. these so-called
celebrated cases" have had to do with al
Legged murderers whose circumstances were
such as to enable them to spend money
like water for the purpose OF battling the
few exceptions the central figures In these
circussed trials have got their freedom.
Nine out Of ten New Workers hold firmly
to the belief-as experience has given them
q right to do-that Roland MOlineuX will
never again be convicted by jury. This
Young aristocrat. clubman and diiletante
has been in confinement for three years.
nearly year of which was passed in the
Sing Sing death chamber. after his con-
yiction by an exceedingly high-grade jury.
His trial lasted nearly two months and cost
New York $20O0G0. The case against him
was pretty bad looking. But he Is gong to
be tried over again. and he is as jaunty In
the Tombs as a drum major. as he has
every right to be. for the chief witnesses
against him at his first trial have myster-
iously disa appeared. and even the people Of
the prosecution admit that there is only
about one chance in twenty of convicting
him again.
Dentist Kennedy's Trial.
Kennedy, the Staten Island dentist, who
was tried twice for the alleged murder of
Dolly Reynolds at the Grand Hotel. both
juries disagreeing. with the result that he
was turned loose last summer. didn't have
any money himself. but his fol ks were
more than comfortably well of. and
great number of his Staten Island friends
started a Kennedy Association for the
purpose of raising a big fund for his de-
fense The fund was raised, and, bad as
the case against Kennedy was. he wriggled
out of the shadow Of the electric chair
>There was big money behind Mrs. Flem-
ing who was tried for the alleged murder
of her mother about six years ago and ac-
quilted, and so on far back In New
Yorks criminal annals as one needs to
search. Meanwhile. the trials OF poor
wretches, alleged murderers. to whose cases
the newspapers barely allude. are going on
every week day. and it Is the simple truth
70 state that most Of these unfortunates
are convicted. Some of these cases are Of
such a nature as to require expert tes-
timony just az urgently as do the trials
that are f1ared over. but in these cases the
defendants have to get along as best they
may without the services of the experts"
They also have to do without witnesses in
clined to attach a monetary value to their
efforts on the side Of the defense: in brief.
they take what they can get and what
they can get Is a mighty short shrift in
comparison with the coddling dealt out to
capital prisoners with wealth or wealthy
connections.
Other Peculiar Methods
There are numerous other peculiarities.