New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-11-16
LEGAL ETHICS.

Mr.. Justice Swayne. of the United States Su-
preme Court, was at an early stage In his career
a district attorney ia Ohio. The story is told
of him that, having to prosecute a murder case
under circumstances which appealed greatly
TO his professional ambition and made convic-
ton Of personal advantage to him. he neverthe-
less, whenever he came upon a circumstance
or piece of evidence which might benefit the de-
PENDANT at once communicated 1t to the de-
PENDANTS counsel. He believed the accused man
guilty and ultimately convicted him, but, he
said, he felt there was no blood upon his hands,
for he had given the man every help to prove
his innocence, if by any chance he was limo
cent, and had steadily worked not to wrest a
conviction from jury, but to get at the truth.
That is the true conception OF prosecutors
duty. How little 1t is exemplified in this city
recent events have shown. few months ago
Governor Odell became convinced of the limo
cence Of a poor Algerian called "Frenchy," who
had been railroaded to life Imprisonment sim
ply to make good a vain police boast that no
Jack the Ripper" could operate undetected in
New York. 1t was no fault Of the authorities
who fabricated a case against him and sup
pressed facts which would have helped TO clear
him that he was not sent TO his death. More
recently attention has been concentrated on
that disgraceful performance miscalled q trial
of MOlineux with which Recorder Golf stained
the court records of New-York The viIlany
perpetrated against "Frenchy' was not widely
known at the time, but the illegality of the
Molineux persecution was the daily comment
Of members OF the bar quite regardless of Opin-
ions about the merits Of the case. Yet we have
seen no movement on the part of the bar to
correct abuses and to set up higher standards
for the administration Of the criminal law.
iS hot, nil
be lost. and we shall probably see prosecution
again become persecution whenever a District
Attorney is out for a victim, or judge is moved
to ratify the verdict of the mob or win the en-
comiums of the sensational press.
Perhaps il the bar were less tolerant of low
professional standards in civil practice they
might do moro TO correct the patent abuses in
the criminal courts. The great majority of
lawyers are unquestionabIy men of high char
acter, but they are not aggressive in checking
abuses which tend to degrade their profession,
and certain body of men are allowed to -four
ish who use the law an instrument of extor-
ton and blackmal. Possibly the commercial
atmosphere Of New-YOrk and the Wall Street
spirit have had their demoralizng effect Law is
looked upon too much as a game in which all is
fair that keeps technically within the rules.
Not long ago q distinguished New-York Judge
$3.50 NOAu lAi'lL q certain disposition OF q case
Tor trial arbitrarily cut a party off from the
possibility OF getting the merits of his side be-
lore the court, smilingly disposed of the pc
ution with the remark. Fortunes Of war! Fort
uhes OF war;. Such an attitude tends to make
Lugants gamblers waiting on the blind turn of
fortunes wheel Last spring one of the lead
ing lawyers OF this city astonished everybody
oy appearing as counsel for a railroad company
] III negotiations with a branch Of the CITY gov