The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-07
COURT ERROR FREES WELLS Prisoner Released by Su- prenle Tribunal. LOWER COURT AT FAULT Received Verdict in Absence of the
 Defendant. Interesting Case From Madison County Is Decided By MT. Justice An
 derson--Several Other
 Opinions.
LOWER COURT AT FAULT

A hungry jury and a too obliging clerk of court. are the two factors which furnished reasons for the re- lease yesterday of John Wells by the Supreme Court after he had been found guilty of a misdemeanor by a lower court and sentenced to pay a fine. t.F
 Tn an opinion handed down by Jus- tice Anderson, the decision of the Mad ison county court was reversed and rendered, and Wells was declared re- leased by teehincality from the obliga- tions placed upon him by a jury sem tence.
 The case of wells against the State brought up several interesting legal | points. The appellant in the case. sev- eral months ago was tried in, the Mad ison county court for disturbing a re- ligious meeting. The jury found him guilty and agreed on a fine of $20.
 Rushed or To Dinner.
 During the deliberations of the twelve good men and true, however, the court had taken a recess for dinner, and when the jurors brought in their verdict the prisoner was not in the court room. In order not to miss their meals, the verdict was handed to the clerk In sealed envelope. and the tu- TOTS hastened to their respective homes When the court re-adjourned, the jury heard the reading of the verdict. and admitted it was the same which had been committed to the care of the clerk.
 Counsel for Wells, holding that this manner of sentencing a prisoner was irregular, protested against the execu- ton of the fine. Wells refused pay- ment- Later he was called into court and sentenced Lo ten days imprison- ment for the payment of the fine, and an additional term of 333 days impris- onment for the payment of $1o0 costs in the case.
 In an appeal to the Supreme Court over the legality of the sentence in the lower court, the opinion of Mir. Justice Anderson was in contradiction to the holding of the Madison county tribunal According to the law, his opinion held, the verdict must be rem dered in open court and in the pres ence of the accused In felony cases he must be present when the jury re- turns the verdict. It is an error to al- low the verdict to be received by the clerk during a recess of the court in the absence of the prisoner, even though the datter's counsel may give his consent Whem the verdict Is so received, and the jury discharged, 1t is the equivalent of an acquittaL The action of the court in reconvening the jury after the defendant had appeared in court, and after they had dispersed. but before having the verdict read, did not cure the error. The prisoner was accordingly discharged.
 Telegraph Company Loses.
 Two appeals were lost by the West ern Uniom Telegraph Company. one for damages of $200 awarded to W. H. Whitson for the non -deliverance of a telegram, by the Tuscaloosa county court and the other a suit in which s240 damages had been awarded to Charles c. Dickens. for the destruc- tion of property, by the Mobile circuit court.
 The former case had it's origin in the failure of the telegraph company to de- kA t@ -I1s tifying him of the death of his mother. The telegram had been given to his 11-year- old son, who had forgotten to deliver 1t, the news of his mothers death remaining unknown to him for ten days. whitson sued for $1.500 and was awarded $200. The appeal of the telegraph company to the Supreme Court was with the object of having the judgment reversed. In his opin- ion, however, MT. Justice Tyson af- firmed the decision of the Tuscaloosa tribunal.
 The other litigation in which the telegraph company lost was suit for $l,000 brought by Charles c. Dickens, for damages wrought to hls property He had been awarded $240 MT. Jus tice Anderson handed down an opinion affirming the action of the Mobile court,
 Damages For Broken Leg.
 Another affirmation of the sentence of a lower court, was that contained in an opinion handed down by MT Justice Tyson. in the case of the South ern Railway Company vs. s. J. Patter- son In the Jackson county circuit court Patterson had been awarded damages to the extent of $500 for a broken leg received by him in alight- Ing from a train at Scottsboro. At the request of the conductor of the train he had helped blind woman to seat in the car, the train starting again before he could alight.
 Anl interesting case which was de- cided by Mir. Justice Simpson, was the appeal of Clem Phillips, as executor