The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-09-09
PAPERS
"SUNK"
HOW A LEGAL PROCEEDING MAY
BE CONDUCTED ON STAR
CHAMBER LINES.

Late Saturday afternoon, from out
side sources a newspaper reporter re-
ceived a quiet tip that Charles w. Case
Deering, whose escapades in the past
have brought him into considerable
notoriety, had been adjudged a spend
thrift, and a guardian appointed In
quiry at the Judiciary Office resulted
in prolonged search being made by
Clerk Henry Smith and James Thomp-
son before the papers III the case were
brought to light from the files where
they had been placed. All of them. ex-
cept the letters of guardianship had
been filed on the preceding Wednesday,
but through the influence of the parties
involved in the matter no word of 1t
had reached the newspapers through
the usual sources until three days later,
and then only by the chance.
The petition for the guardianship
was filed by George P. Merrick, and
alleged that Deering was liable to i'm
pOverish himself and family by his ex-
travangance and waste, and asked that
he be made guardian of the income
from behring's property, which mounts
to about $4,000 per annum. Deering
was brought forward and agreed to the
arrangement and the order was hand
ed down, as before stated
1t seems that every effort was made
to prevent the papers from getting at
the matter. In the first place, at the
request of II. e. Cooper, counsel in the
case, the matter was not brought be-
fore Judge De Bolt in the Circuit Court
until after 4 o'clock on Wednesday, af-
ter the business day was practically
ended. The petition for the guardian
bears the endorsement of Clerk Job
Bachelor showing that it was filed at
Ais p. m; behring's answer was filed
at ABS p. m; and the decree of the
court filed at Abs p. IN. On Saturday
letters of guardianship were filed az
1890 o'clock, but did not appear in
the usual receptacle, where all court
papers are placed for a day or more
before they are finally filed away
Clerk Scott. who has charge of the
filing of the papers stated this morn
ing that there was no law compelling
the clerks to place any documents in
the box above referred to, and that the
papers in the case were placed in their
regular place in the files and were
accessible to anyone who might ask
to see them. They had, been placed
directly there, he said, At the request
of Attorney Cooper.
According to Judge De Bolt, who was
asked about the matter the parties
to the case had requested the court to
keep the matter quiet as they did not
wish the newspapers to get hold of it.
Judge De Bolt says that he replied that
he could not prevent the papers being
seen if called for but that he nor his
clerk Bachelor need not talk about
the matter 1t then being late the pa
pers were not turned into the Judiciary
Office until the next morning, according
to clerk Bachelor. II had nothing to
do with them after they left my hands
declared he and had nothing to do
with any holding up of them"
The fact, however, remains that the
papers were not handled as regards the
reporters as ordinary papers are, for
the reason that no one of them ever
saw a corner of them until it leaked
out from outside sources. Judge De
Bolt virtually admitted this, and there
upon instructed Clerk Bachelor that
the future policy of this court will be
that all papers regardless of whom they
may concern. schall be handled exact
ly alike.
Judge De Bolt denied the story that
they had had any place on any secret
file," although Clerk Scott referred to
them as having been so placed. The
Judge further stated that there are but
two kinds of documents which have
the privilege by law of being kept
secret or on a secret file. These are
grand jury indictments, and papers
purporting to be wills entered for pro-
bate. These latter, he said, are not
public property until proved and adj
mitted to be the last testament or the
deceased
The papers in the case are as fol-
lows:
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT.
TERRITORY OF HAWAII.
| IN CHAMBERS. IN PROBATE.
In the Matter of the Guardianship Of
CHARLES w. CASE DEERING.
PETITION.
To the Honorable J. T. De Bolt, First
Judge Of the Circuit Court, First
Circuit
Your petitioner, George P. Merrick,
respectfully represents and shows:
THAT he is a citizen Of the City OF
Chicago, State of Illinois, temporarily
sojourning in this Jurisdiction; that he
has for ten years last past had the
general charge and management OF the