The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-01-09
TELEPHONE PROPER VEHICLE
FOR TRANSMITTING DECISIONS
PRECEDENT is ESTABLISHED
Supreme Court Sanctions Innovation
Where Element of Time Enters
"A Local Application.
From Tuesdays Daily Gazette.

i F.MIFz H.- #Wa|HM -FHr .=. L
The telephone has gained another
victory and in a quarter it was not to
be expected. 1t is now considered
legal and regular to transmit by
word of mouth opinions and decisions
over long stretches Of wire where
the element of time is an important
consideration. 1t took a supreme
court to establish the precedent, bu:
established it has been.
This morning after Clerk Williams
had read yesterdays proceedings of
the district court Mr.. Johnston, attor-
ney for L. M. Hayden, arose and said
that he wished to enter an objection
to the appearance of o. f. Goddard as
associate counsel for the prosecution
for the reason that he had not been
retained by the county, but appeared
as the representative of private par
ties. Mr., Johnston said that recently
the supreme court of the state had
rendered an opinion in accordance
with his objection. He said he had
not seen the opinion in full, but had
read the purport of it in the news
papers. .
Judge Loud replied that he would
not like to be governed by newspaper
reports of decisions and then intimat-
ed that it might be necessary to con-
tinue the matter for a few days until
a copy of the opinion cited could be
obtained from the clerk of the SUI
preme court. The delay this would
necessitate appeared Objectionable to
both sides. linen the court suggest
ed that the only thing remaining to
be done was to telegraph to the clerk
of the supreme court to send by wire
that part of the opinion having spec
ial bearing on the motion then under
consideration. ~
Here Attorney Goddard arose and
said that a better way would lie to
telephone to the clerk and have him
read the decision into the phone
to the court and the court could re-
peat it to the stenographer, who could
take it down and make a transcript of
it. In support of his suggestion MI.
Goddard said the supreme court did
this very often, particularly between
Butte and Helena, in this manner
transmitting orders and opinions that
were accepted as legal and binding
at the other end of the wire.
Judge Loud accepted the sugges-
ton and instructed Fred Kriedler, the
court reporter, to place himself in
telephone communication with the
clerk of the supreme court and take
down the opinion as read to him.
Pending a return of Mr.. Kreidler
the matter was allowed to rest, as
the court did not care to pass on the
motion of the defense until the trans
cript of the opinion had been received.
When connection was made with
Helena it was found that the clerk
of the supreme court was just then
too busy to be able to comply with
the request for a copy" of the opin-
ion referred to by Mr.. Johnston and
it was necessary to wait until the
noon hour. Judge Loud ordered a re-
cess until the usual time this after
noon.
At the reconvening of court Mr..
Kreidler submitted his transcript and
it was found that Mr.. Johnston had
been in error. The opinion upon
which he had based his objection was
only the dissenting opinion of n
of the justices, Justice Milburn, and
was rendered in the case of State
VS.. Tighe, appealed to the supreme
court On a writ of error. One of the
errors alleged was that the trial court
had permitted private counsel to as
sist in the prosecution. The SUI
preme court sustained the lower
court in this. In his dissent Justice
Milburn said that a private prosecutor
had been employed by a stranger and
represented vengeance, and that the
county prosecutor represented law
and justice and was a regular Off
Ger of the court.
The objection was overruled and
Mr.. Goddard continues as counsel. AS
a matter of p%recaution, however, in
case it was found that Mr.. Johnston
was right, the attorney general had
been communicated with in the in
term and he appointed Mr.. Goddard
to assist in the prosecution, there
by giving him a right to appear, even