Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-30
STACKPOLE ASKS
FOR NEW TRIAL
LAWYERS DESERT CONVICTED
MURDERER
Appeal Of Slayer Of Joel seheek Is
Looked Upon by Attorneys
as ForIorn
Hope

In a last desperate effort to save
himself from a life imprisonment
in the state penitentiary, Ernest G..
Stackpole, convicted of the murder of
Joel Scheck, will today appear before
Judge James in department one of
the superior court and petition a new
trial.
That attorneys for the defense have
little or no hope of securing a new
trial for their client is evident by the
statement made by one of them yester-
day to the effect that he intended to
withdraw from the case after a formal
petition for a new trial, thus closing
his end of an agreement with Stack
pole and leaving the condemned man
to shift for himself.
The truth of the affair, according to
the statements of those who know, is
that Stackpole's attorneys have fallen
out. Thompson and his partner and
Noelman and Smyser have disagreed
and Ackerman has also decided to get
away from the unsavory case. When
Stackpole went to trial he was repre-
sented by five attorneys When the
Stackpole case is called Attorney Fred
Thompson will probably be the last
of the attorneys. He will petition a
new trial for the case and then with
draw. Attorney c. C. McComas, repre-
senting the state, will contest the petit
ton and it is thought that a new trial
will promptly be denied since no error
has been found in any part of the
case.
Is Forlorn Hope
If the petition is overruled then
Stackpole will be recalled before Judge
James and will be sentenced in ac-
cordance with the verdict of the jury
to spend the remainder of his days be-
IL IL
probably at Folsom.
Yesterday Attorney Thompson held
a consultation with Stackpole. The
condemned man appeared nervous but
he is holding up unusually well and
his troubles do not seem to affect him.
After his interview he sent for several
attorneys but many of them refused
to go to him. In fact with Thompson
withdrawn from the case it will be
hard for Stackpole to secure an at
torney to carry what is considered a
losing fight to the supreme court.
Such an appeal would require ample
funds and Stackpole's money is said to
be down to bed rock. 1t would also
mean a desperate effort by attorneys
to save a forlorn hope with every
thing to lose and nothing to gain and
few attorneys would face such case
unless there was plenty of money in it.
OllOWllS lIle ulSpOSdl VI Tie OldCh-
pole case, the trial of Mrs. Scheck will
be declared in order. Just what is to
be done with the woman has not been
learned. That her attorneys would have
allowed her to take the witness stand
and testify against Stackpole as she
did without first having promise of
immunity from punishment for her, is
laughed at by prominent attorneys of
Los Angeles. They declare that Mrs.
Scheck would have never taken the
stand against her former lover had
she not been promised freedom. On
the other hand there is no evidence
against the woman. Her own state
ment given at the Stackpole trial in
which she implicated herself as ac-
complice to the murder cannot be used
against her according to the state
ments of attorneys and so there is no
evidence against the woman.
Attorney Fleming is away on his
vacation and it is said the woman's
case will not be taken up until his re-
turn.