The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-09-04
ATTORNEY REYNOLDS ASKS FOR
ACQUITTAL.
Alleged Irregularities In Case Since
Court-Government Wants Verdict.

The trial of George Ferris, for MUIR
der in the first degree, began this
morning with a motion for an instruct
ed verdict of acquittal based on many
alleged Irregularities in the case since
Ferris was first brought into court
Il. II. Paris, was excused as a juror
when court convened, and II. Il. Rich
ardson was chosen in his place. making
the jury consist of Fred West, John
Hills, Harry Juen, David Hoapili,
George ROenitz, S. a. Walker, w. A..
Love, Frank Dutro, George II. Paris,
Thomas Lloyd, Thomas Lucas and l..
IL. Richardson. G. IL, Green was eX-
cused because he did not believe in
capital punishment
The court was at a loss for a place
in which to house the jury while the
trial is on. There is no statute in Ha-
wall providing for feeding and housing
jurors, said Judge Gear, and under this
state of affairs the common law Is to
be followed. Under the old common
law jurors were locked up without food
or water or lights, until they agreed
on a verdict. This is not done on the
Mainland, and Gear said some way
would be found to provide food.
The High Sheriff was asked if he
could furnish beds, etc, in which case
the court room may be transformed in
to a large dormitory. Lycurgus' es-
| Establishment will be asked to feed the
jurors and wait for payment.
Deputy Attorney General John w.
( Cathcart opened the case for the pros
ecution. He made a statement to the
jury of what the Territory proposed to
prove, going over the story of the
quarrel between the defendant and
John Watson, eliminating in Watson
being stabbed through the heart. Cath
cart said that he would ask the jurors
to return a verdict of guilty of muir
der in the first degree.
Alfred KrOhn was called as a wit
ness, and then Attorney Reynolds for
the defense made his motion that the
jury be instructed to acquit. There
was long list of alleged fatal irregu-
larities in the former proceedings in
the case, during the last term of court,
according to Reynolds contentious.
The motion set forth that Ferris had
been deprived of his constitutional
right to be present and to have coun-
sci, at the impanelling of the grand
jury which took up his case. The mo-
ton also declared that Ferris had new
er been arraigned at all, and that the
endorsements on it's face were untrue,
one of them being to the affect that
| Ferris had entered a plea of guilty. A
fourth ground was that Ferris had
been deprived of a trial by the jury
regularly impanelled for the term bust
ness, that jury having been dismissed
and a new one summoned.
An affidavit by Ferris was introduce
/ ed in support of the motion. 1t set
forth that he had not been allowed to
/ be present when the grand jury was
impanelled, and that he had had no
counsel present. 1t denied that he had
ever pleaded guilty as endorsed on the
back of the Indictment, and also de-
! MED that he had ever been arraigned.
! The indictment was read to him"
said the defendant, by one E. A. Dou-
thitt, but the latter was not at that
| time a Deputy Attorney General
After lengthy argument, Judge Gear
| denied the motion to instruct the jury,
and ordered the trial to proceed. Jail
| or Henry was put on the stand during
/ the argument, to confirm the state
ment in Ferris affidavit, that he had
not been brought into court on the first
| day of the term, when the Grand jury
| was impanelled.