Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-11-28
BOARDAAN CASE
IS BEING HEARD
Proceedings In Disbarment
Against Well-Known Attor-
ney Before Judge Plat
COURT susTAINs DEMURRER
Prosecution Is Upheld In Tho conten.
tions Of Its Demurrer to Amended
Answer of Detendant-Miss McN'n-
non Here as Witness, But ls III -
Testimony Begun.

Testimony Begun.
Before Judge Franklin G. Platt, Of
Waterloo, in the district court of this
county, the proceedings in disbarment,
brought against G.. H. e. Boardman,
= well-known attorney Of this city, BY
F. w. Armstrong, were begun this
morning. An interested crowd occu-
Died seats In the court room as disbar-
ment proceedings are seldom seen In
any court room. The Marshall Coun-
~ Bar Association was largely repre-
eented, as the case has been Of espec-
ial interest to the attorneys Of the city
and county.
Judge Platt arrived in the city on the
morning train, ana court was convened
at about $3.50. The presentation Of the
prosecutions demurrer to the amends
ed plea of the defendant, that this
court had no Jurisdiction to disbar him,
was first made. In the defendants
amended answer to the petition this
was one Of the assignments, and the
prosecution dernurred. The defendant
held that he had been admitted 10
practice law by the supreme court Of
Iowa and therefore the district court
had no Jurisdiction whatever. The Sec
ond assignment CT the demurrer of the
prosecution was in the claim of the
defendant. in his amended answer, that
+. w. Armstrong, in filing the pro-
ceedings in disbarment against the de-
PENDANT, had acted thru malice. or that
the proceedings were actuated by mo-
tives of malice. The grounds Of the
demurrer Of the defense. to this divi-
sion. was that IL was not sufficient
defense. The court sustained the de-
murrer on both assignments, altho at
forwards. in a statement to the attor-
neys Interested, intimated that in rul-
Ing on the demurrer as to the malice of
the petitioner, he would not regard
testimony on that contention as wholly
immaterial: SO 1t will have some
bearing on the case.
The motion CT the prosecution to
strike portions Of the defendants an
swer, made when the demurrers to the
answer were filed, was withdrawn
when Judge Blrnham, on Saturday,
overruled the motion Of the prosecution
for continuance.
After the ruling Of the court on the
demurrer ]. L. Carney, for the prose-
cution, made statement to the court
on behalf Of the prosecution, and Col.
j. M. Parker made the preliminary
statement for the defendant. The tax
ing Of evidence was then begun on the
part Of the prosecution, by c. H. Van
Law. Up to the noon adjournment.
at IL o'clock, the evidence dealt with
the admissions Of the defendant to the
correspondence between the defendant
and Miss Agnes McKinnon, in refer
ence to the shorthand notes and trans
script in the LAMB case.
Brief History Of tho Case.
The history Of the matters leading
UP to the action In disbarment can be
stated briefly as follows: The action
in which the unprofessional conduct is
charged to have occurred was that OF
B. LAMA VS. the LeGrand Quarry
Company, suit for damages which
was recently, after two appeals and
three trials In the district court, de-
cided in favor OF the plaintiff A set
Element was reached, after the supreme
courts decision, and the damage case
Is now out of court. In preparing the
abstract for the appeal Of the plain
tiff. in 1902, IL was discovered by the
attorneys for the defense. Binford &
Smelling, that certain records Of the
case In the district court had been
tempered with, and changed, pages of
the evidence having been rewritten
and new ones inserted. Upon .nvesti-
CATION 1t was learned, that Mr.. Board
man had written Miss Agnes McKin-
non, formerly court reporter for Judge
Burnham, calling her attention to GER
tain discrepancies which he believed
the evidence. Miss McKinnnon, be-
lieving that she possibly did make mis-
takes in reporting the case which was
a difficult one to take, yielded to Mr..
Boardman's representations and made
the alterations, as requested. The
matter of the change of records was
brought into the district court before
Judge Burnhlm who ordered the rec
ords restored; after severely scoring
Mr.. Boardma.n. Talk of disbarment
was rife when the matter was in court
and after several weeks F. w. Arm
strong, who had had some unpleasant
litigation with Mr.. Boardman, filed an
action, which is now before Judge
Platt.
Boardman's Defense.
1.-THE charge in the case is very broad.
It charges that Mr.. Boardman, by his
own act. falsified the record, also that
he did so by and thru another. There
will be no evidence, whatsoever, that
Mr.. Boardman did anything as an act
Of his own, personally, to change the
shorthand notes, or the transcript OF
them" said Colonel Parker, attorney
for the defense. He continued, "All
that Mr.. Boardman had to do with the
changes Of the record. that the prose-
cution is pleased to call fraudulent
was done by Miss Agnes McKinnon, the
court reporter, after her attention had
been called to the omission in her
notes. by letters from Mr.. Boardman.
That the only communication Mr..
Boardman had with Miss McKinnon
was by letter; that Mr. Boardman did
not see Miss McKinnon until long
time after the charges complained Of
were made.