Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-12-19

o GOetz, II. G. Elliott, Lewis Farmer, @
o Il. Loper, Frank a. Weir, W. II. %
% Renvis and !. II. ELLIS. @
q @ @ g @ @ @ q @ o @ g @ @ @ q q q %
Eleven Jurors have been selected so
far to serve on the jury which is about
to try H. c. Vignes, a deputy sheriff, on
q charge Of having committed election
fraud during the primary election for
county offices several weeks ago.
The charge against Vignes is a grand
jury Indictment given under suggestion
of District Attorney Fredericks on evil
dence and information furnished by two
newspaper men who allege they were
approached by Vignes during the pri-
mary election and offered 81 to vote
for delegates to the county convention
favorable to the election Of Sheriff Will
White.
He, 1t is alleged, gave them the num-
Der of, the precinct and the names of
the men whom they should represent
when they cast their vote, and drove
them to the polling place.
The reporters did not cast the votes
nor return for their money, but the
next morning in the Los Angeles Times
the story was printed and the case was
taken before the grand jury by the
district attorney.
manages courts
Since that time it has been buffeted
from one court to another Vignes re-
tanned Attorney Fred Thompson and
Thompson carried the indictment be-
fore Judge Trask of department four
of the superior court and secured the
dismissal of the charge on the ground
that the Indictment had been drawn I'M
der the wrong section of the code.
Vignes was discharged only to be re-
arrested the next day on two other in
dictments filed by the grand jurors
under the proper clauses of the code.
Later Thompson alec sarried those
indictments before Judge Trask, ask
ing dismissal on the ground that the
election was not called in a legal man.
ner and that therefore there had been
no primary election as recognized by
law and that VigneS could not be held
for attempted bribery when there had
been no legal election.
Judge Trask, however, refused to ac-
cept that Interpretation and after a
number Of delays and postponements
Vignes yesterday appeared for trial be-
fore Judge Trask in department seven.
Thirty-five Examined
Thirty-five men were examined yes
terday and of that number only eleven
were accepted. The entire panel being
exhausted, Judge Trask last night is
drawn, and out of that number the eX-
ira juror will be selected today and the
trial begin.
Yesterday the chief bone of conten-
ton between Assistant District Attor-
ney c. c. McComas and Attorney
Thompson was the question of chal-
longing jurors because of ignorance of
the election laws.
1t was found during the course of eX-
animation that not one of the jurors
had any idea of the election laws re-
garding the calling of primaries. Ac-
cording to the statements of prominent
attorneys of Los Angeles the prelimi-
nary steps in the calling of primary
elections in this state represent one of
the most intricate systems of law in
the country and the instructions cover
many finely printed pages, so that it
will probably take days and days of in
VeStigation by attorneys in an effort to
fathom out the right and wrong of the
primary called several weeks ago, and
one mistake throughout the difficult
procedure will probably call for dis
missal of the case on the ground that
the primary election was not a legal
one and that there could have been no
bribery.
In that case there will be a discussion
which may reopen the fight for county
officers and contest
Even judges of election who We're on
the panel yesterday when examined by
attorneys announced that they We're
completely ignorant of the election laws
and that they had thought the primary
legal because the supervisors had adj
vertised it.