The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-12-09
COURTS OPINION IN FULL
General Belief In Guilt Of Principals
Causes Pre-judgment as Regards
Petitioners Case.
From Tuesdays Daily.

venue. He will be tried in Sweet
Grass county, according to an agree
ment arrived at between his lawyers,
Hathhorn & Groves, and County Attor-
ney Harris and o. F. Goddard, who
appear for the prosecution.
Judge Loud announced his decision
this morning, which follows:
"After a careful examination OF the
evidence which was introduced in
favor of the petitioner and that intro
duced on the part of the state in re-
sistance of the motion, the court is OF
the opirion that while it might be
possible to secure a jury in this
county that would answer all OF tae
statutory requirements, the court is
nevertheless of the opinion that all OF
the evidence introduced clearly dem.
onstrates that there is a general opln-
ion in this community and in this
county to the effect that Edward
Grady and Orton Mosier are guilty OF
the crime of robbery and of the homo
eide growing out of that robbery; and
inasmuch as the defendant in this
case, il convicted at all, would have
to be convicted upon evidence show
ing that he was an accessory before
the fact, the guilt or innocence OF Ed
ward Grady and Orion Mosier as prin-
cipals would necessarily be obliged to
be established by the evidence in his
| particular case. To that extent he
people of this community and of this
| county have pre-judged his case.
"This case seems to be clearly
I! within the rule laid down in State
against Spotted Hawk, which was a
case that I tried 2 good many years
ago. The supreme court reversed
that case because l refused to grant
a change of venue. In that particular
case the record shows that only IS
Jurors were examined before a jury
was secured, but the supreme court
| reversed the case for the reason, as is
stated in the opinion, that an excited
state of feeling existed in the commu-
nifty against the defendant. That case
was tried at Miles City, the county
seat of Custer county, and the crime
was committed at a point 80 or 80
miles distant from that place. l was
of the opinion at the time l refused
to grant the change OF venue that
there was no such feeling OF hostility
to the defendant as the supreme court
found to have existed. But, be that
as it. may, the rule announced in hat
case is practically decisive of this
motion.
I'm an Iowa case, State VS.. Graft
ton, reported in the Seth Northwest
ern, page 258, the court announces
the same rule, and inasmuch as the
same conclusion was reached in that
case, which case was also reversed
because the lower court overruled a
motion for a change of venue, as the
reasons there given are practically
the same reasons that move me to
grant a change of venue in this case,
for the benefits of counsel l will read
that part of the opinion. The court
there says:
"'An excited state of public feeling
and opinion is always most unfavor-
able for the investigation OF truth.
Not only should the mind of the juror
be wholly without bias and prejudice,
it should not only be free from all un-
due feeling and excitement in itself,
but it should be, as far as possible,
removed from the influence of preju-
dice and feeling and excitement in
others.
GA man charged with the commits.
sion of the grave crime of murder has
a right to be tried by an impartial
jury and in a community where his
case has not been p%rejudiced and
pre-judged.'
II am of the opinion that this COM
munity has p%re-judged this case, in so
far as believing Edward Grady and
Orion Mosier guilty of the crime
charged, and that being an element
of the case at bar the court is OF the
opinion that the motion should be
granted and it is granted &C
cordingly."
The court then said of his own mo-
ton he should send the case to For.
syth, in Rosebud county, but that ii
counsel desired to send it to any
I other nearby county where the ex
pense would not be greater, he would
| hear them. Thereupon counsel agreed
upon Big Timber, in Sweet Grass