The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-09-20
POLICE METHODS ARE
LAID IN THE BALANCE
Judge Gear Has important Ruling to Make This
Morning on Question OF Enforcing
the Liquor Laws.

An important ruling is expected from
the Legality of police methods long in
vogue in the Hawaiian Islands for the
suppression of Illicit liquor selling. The
question arose late yesterday afternoon
in the trial of A. f. Franco for selling
| liquor without license at the Half
| way House, Nuuanu Pail road,
| Harry w. Flint. a police officer, was
the first witness called. His testimony
regarding a seizure he made of a guam
| tity of liquor directly after the alleged
sale was, on the objection of ]. J. Dunno
for the defendant, ordered struck out as
| irrelevant and intended to prejudice
the minds of the jury"
A basket containing bottles, some
! opened and partly empty and others
sealed and full. was on the floor beside
the chair of Nj. F. Prosser, Deputy At
| torney General. Most of it was beer,
| but there was some red liquor and
sauare-face gin. Under the ruling it
all became dead stock as evidence.
| officer Flint testified that he rode up
the valley in a hack, for which the
| Government paid, taking with him IN
the vehicle man named Fisher, and
another They walked part of the way
| to the place Witness gave Fisher
money with which he bought beer from
/ Franco, part of which witness himself
| drank.
Mr.. Dunno objected to the question
/ if beer was an intoxicating drink, con-
tending that defendant was charged
| with selling "spirituous liquors. Id
| it was not competent for the witness
| to say whether beer was either spiritu-
Gus liquor or intoxicating. Mr.. Prosser
| quoted the statute that gives beer
| among the definitions of spirituous
| liquor for the purposes of the enact
ment. Mr.. Dunno then dropped the OBJ
! lection but, after a few of his cross
| questions were answered, he moved
! that all of the testimony of the witness
| be struck out, on this ground:
'eThat it is against public policy to
allow testimony of this kind to be used
| for the conviction of any man."
| Though Mr.. Dunno said he would
| only occupy a few minutes with his au-
thorities, Mr.. Prosser insisted on the
| excusing of the jury during the argu-
| ment. The court accordingly excused
| the jury, who retired to the corridors.
| Mr.. Dunno quoted Michigan. Colorado
motion For the first-named the author
was no less than Judge Cooley. The
present case was, like those quoted, one
| in which the police assisted in the COM
/ mission of crime. One of the authori-
ties cited held that the method in ques-
ton was wholly opposed to every idea
/ of decency in the administration of jus
tice''
| of Hawaii had ever passed on that
| question 1t might have settled the
status of informers, who merely watch
ed for offenses, but he did not think
1
| case like this, where the police hau
built I'D an offense. According TO Judge
Cooley, the duty of the police IN this
! case would have been to go UP ana
/ warn Franco that he was su5p Acted Of
breaking the law and would De pursued
| if h., d.d not desist from se.'ing liquor.
Mr.. Prosser replied tersely that it was
| lust as illegal for one without license
to sell LIQUOR to a policeman as to any
body else. The testimony of Flint was
therefore not incompetent and there
was no effort to show that it was UNI
true. The law made no distinction be-
tween persons to whom liquor could or
could not be sold.
How are such ofrenses to be found
out?" Judge Gear asked of defendants
counsel.
Il would refer that question to the
ingenuity of the police" Mr.. Dunno an
swered and went on again throwing
Michigan. Colorado and California at
the court Judge Gear remarked that
the practice in question had always
existed here, to which Mr.. Dunno re-
piled that it was time such practice
was done away with in the interests
of a decent administration of justice.
Mr.. Prosser asked what about the
! Japanese conspiracy cases before the
Federal court.
Mr. Dunno (who is Assistant L. s
Attorney answered that he was not
in those cases and that he did not ap-
prove OF the tactics employed.
Judge Gear referred to the case OF
attempted bribery of officials detected
in the Attorney Generals office through
laying d trap, asking: