Kootenai County Republican. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1899-1903, 1902-03-28
FLORENCE BURNS Is FRED
HELD FOR DEATH OF BROOKS.
she H1s BceW in Custody since Feb
ruary 1E-The Judge Held the Evil
deMce Insufficient to Iadite-At-
torn~y's strong Arguments-NS
Law for Ase~.tinE Sn Sss sicscn.

Now York. March Adherence
| Burns. q young brooklyn woman who
has been in the custody Of the police
Of this city since February ID under
suspicion of knowing how Walter
Brooks met his death. has been dis
| charged from custody by Justice May
or.
Brooks. who was young eommiss-
| ion merchant here, had been keeping
company with Florence Burns Ha
was found dead the night Of February
II in room in the Glenn island hotel.
| The gas was turned on and there was
a bullet in the head.
| The district attorney tried to. show
that Florence was likely TO have killed
Brooks, because he was trying to
| break off his association With her.
The defense advanced the suicide the
DRY and for several days Justice lay
er has been examining the theories.
| He finally decided. when the hearing
closed tonight, that nothing had been
brought out sufficient to hold Florence
Burns TO the grand jury After her
discharge she returned to her homo in
Brooklyn.
At the hearing this afternoon Attor-
ney Backus, representing the Burns
girl, made his argument. enntending
that there was not an iota of evidence
| To show that his client was connected
with the death Of Brooks.
Assistant District Attorney Schur-
man followed In an argument intended
70 cast suspicion on the girl. holding
that there was plenty Of circumstan-
tial evidence ON which TO bring her
case 10 the attention of the grand jury.
Justice Mayer at once gave his de-
cision. in which he reviewed all the
evidence and held that nothing had
been brought out by the state sun
cient for him to hold the girl far trial
In the criminal branch az the supreme
court.
Justice Mayer is Of the special SEES
sions court and sat as an examining
magistrate.
Ruth Dunn. the young woman on
whose account Brooks wished to break
of his relations with Florence Burns.
testified that she saw Walter Brooks
on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednes-
day evenings before his death. At tho
= request Of Attorney Backus, for the
= defense, her evidence WAS stricken
from the record.
. Mr.. Hackus, the prisoners consul.
moved that certain statements made
, ny his client 10 detectives be stricken
/. from the records, because she had not
been informed OF her rights when the
, statements were made. Assistant Dis
] trict Attorney Schurman opposed this
, motion hut Justice Mayer granted It.
) saying he had searched carefully for
e a precedent where the statement OF
a defendant. when not informed OF the
; charge against him or her, had been
2 used as evidence, and he had failed to
, End one such Gaze Judge Mayer said
D he found no Warrant: IN law for the
questioning OF a prisoner by poles
officer before the prisoner had been
arraigned before police magistrate
or informed OF his rights. Mr. Sehur-
man said he hoped that the court
would make 1t possible to have that
view thoroughly tested.
at is going to work the greatest In
. novation in the system In vogue" he
added, mot only in the city OF New
York, but the entire country. Thous-
ands OF cases have been decided In
court here on statements made by
, prisoners to officers before the ar
raignment"
Justice Mayer said the system might
have been established by custom, but
as long as there was no warrant for
}, IL In the law custom could have no
4 force. The justice also declared that
. there was no law permitting a person
. to be arrested on suspicion