The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-02-17
Supreme COURT
OPENS NEW
ERA
OverruIeS Three of the PrinCt-
pal Stronghold TeChniCaIitieS
of the Success to Crime Re-
gime in the Circuit Court,

"A decision that will revolutionize
criminal practice" is the description
applied by many lawyers to an opinion
handed down by the Supreme Court
yesterday, in which the whole fabric of
technicalites that have embarrassed
the prosecution in crimina, trials, is
swept away. The defective COM
plant" the paid informer" and the
'illegal methods of securing evidence"
are alike quashed as pleas on which
defendants can secure liberty.
There are many men at large today
who would have been behind prison
bars If the law as now laid down had
been the recognized law for the past
several years." said former Deputy At
torney General John w. Cathcart. 1t
is a decision of most vital importance
TO the prosecution. But then l am on
the other side now."
In the first circuit especially the
judges have been dismissing defend
ants ON account of small defects in the
complaints, and have been ructihg
juries to exercise the most extreme
caution in weighing the evidence of in
formers. Scores of defendants have
been discharged or acquitted as re-
suit of these views held by the trial
judges, and further ruling striking
out evidence because it was secured by
illegal means. AS to the defective COM
plants the court says in it's decision
of yesterday, which was in the liquor
selling case of All Sam, of Kauai:
The contention that the complaint
upon which the defendant was
tried does not sufficiently state any
cause would seem to be based upon
q misconception of the true function of
the affidavit or so-called complaint.
The sole function of the complaint, as
provided for by section 606 of the Penal
Laws, is to support the issuance of the
warrant or in other words, to enable
the magistrate to determine whether or
not there is probable cause to believe
that an offense has been committed by
the accused so as to justify his appre-
hension.
The complaint referred to in that
section is not the charge upon which
the defendant is tried although it is a
statement in substance and may also
be in exact language, of the offence to
be set forth in the charge subsequently
entered against the defendant in court.
The charge itself is under the practice
prevailing in the District Courts, en-
tered orally by the prosecuting officer
upon the defendants appearance and
noted by the magistrate in his record,
and it is upon the charge as then en-
tered that the trial is had, The pre-
else form of the charge entered against
this defendant in the District Court OF
Koloa, is not disclosed by the record
before us, nor does it appear that any
objection was made on the ground of
its insufficiency, although the defend
ant was present and represented by
counsel. We cannot assume, under
these circumstances, that the charge
as entered did not state an offense."
In the discussion of alleged unlawful
entry on premises to secure evidence,
the court says: Even If the search
was unauthorized, that would not of
itself render the evidence thus found
incompetent or inadmisable."
With regard to the testimony of in -.
formers the court says:
The testimony of informers is to be
judged as to its truthfulness by the
same tests as that of other witnesses.
The motive or lack of motive and the
interest or lack of interest of a witness