The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-14
THE APPEAL DISMISSED.

When Attorney General Brceden was
over.pcrsuaded and blindly yielded TO
the opportunities of the county omcla'
conspirators in taking up their case tor
them on appeal to the Supreme Court
from the dismissal by Judge Armstrong,
It was a plain case that so far as the
consnirators were concerned 1t was
merely move for delay. IT was not
move, nor could it possibly have been
move. In good faith. 1t was n clear
tri1ing with the court; ana yet ao"
iorncy General Breeder was not 10
blame for tins, because he was over'per-
suaded and thought there was a case,
as il was represented to him, But When
he came 10 examine tho matter ana
clearly face the appeal proposition III
the Supreme Court, he saw that IL WAS
absolutely ridiculous There was no
case whatever to appeal; no point upon
which the appeal could rest; so he did
the only thing that was possible, ana
entered an absolute and unqualified DIS
missal. Thus ends in iiasco another OF
the tremendous moves in this CON
spiracy of county officials against the
American party through Chief Of Police
Sheets.
The case was 4 perfectly PLAIN one,
and it involved merely the proposition
Of whether the defendant could be ac-
cused Of one species of otfcnse and
tried for another. Chief Sheets was ae-
cused of conspiring to commit an or
fensc, which is misdemeanor. On that
accusation and formal information filed,
the conspirators undertook To put HIM
on trial for n felony. AS matter OF
course, as soon as this purpose was dis
closed the case had to go by the board.
| 1t is impossible, for example, to charge
q man with assault and battery and pro-
ceed to try him Tor murder. 1t is I'M
possible to charge man with burglary
and on the same information try him
for rape. The law is and always has
been perfectly plain, that an accused
person must be charged specifically and
clearly with tho offense for which he Is
being tried, and for nothing else, Court
practice would degenerate into roar
! ing farce if accused persons could be
charged with one sort OF otfense and
then tried upon any other class OF
crime, misdemeanor, or felony winch
might suit the whim of the prosecuting
officer, Nothing is commoner than for
counsel for tho accused to demur to an
indictment or information, even when
that information charges plainly the
real ofrense for which the accused is to
be tried. And often the information
or indictment is found defective and IS
dismissed Much more certainly must
the information or Indictment be dis
missed if it charge an offense different
from that upon which II is proposed to
bring the accused TO trial
This dismissal of the appeal by At
torncy General Breeder, which WAS abb
solute and inevitable, puts an end in
fact to the prosecution against Sheets,
The conspirators, no matter what they
NAV do now, are unmasked rs merely
political bunco" "steerers who are using
the courts in their political, partisan
plots and schemes, The courts are
dragged into politics for political pur-
poses, and not for any Legitimate pur-
pose of the judiciary.
II is possible Of course, that a new
information may be fled against Chief
Sheets based on further testimony by
the confessed crook, thief. and per"
jured Parent, the partner of the con-
spirators, or, it is possible that some
sort Of "A story may be cooked up with
Bell upon which an information might
be based At the same time. the public
will understand what the animus be-
hind II all is from hepceforth, no mat
ter what form il may take,
With respect TO Bell. we see that Gov
crnor Folk has honored the requisitIon
for his return TO Utah, We are glad Of
this, because it would not do to allow
Bell TO get away--as so many prisoners
Of the sheriff have got away-now that
he has been apprchendcd, OF course he
could have been taken in charge at any
time these past six months or more that
the official consplrators might have de-
sired TO take HIM. They announced from
the first that they had all their men in
hand, and could produce them when
ever desired. They fought shy of taking
Bell, however as long as they could
keep the case against Sheets politically
alive without him. All other resources
having now failed, they find 1T essential
to the keeping alive of their conspiracy