Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-17
TRIAL OF "DR. LEON" BEGUN
TESTIMONY OF PROSECUTING
WITNESS HEARD YESTERDAY.
Hearing Before Justice Barnard
Criminal Court No. 2-May Go
to Jury Late Today.

The trial of DR.. Edward Leon Thompson.
alias Edward Leon, indicted for an alleged
criminal operation on Sadie Volk, young
German girl. now twenty-five years of age,
begun yesterday morning in Criminal Court
No 2, before Justice Barnard, was con-
tinued today. The case will p, obably go
to the jury late this afternoon or tOmor-
row morning
The court room was crowded when the
government announced that it was ready to
preaeed. and asked that the defendant be
called upon to plead to a ACKNOWLEDGMENT in
which the charge had been restated. Attor
neys Leo Simmons and Thomas c. Taylor,
for the defense. filed a plea in abatement.
which set forth that the trial should not
proceed because the grand jury which had
returned the indictment had not heard the
witnesses, and otherwise attacked the val
idity of the Indictment
On demurrer by Assistant United States
Attorneys Mcnamara and Turner, Justice
Barnard overruled the plea and directed
the trial to proceed.
The opening statement was made by Mr..
Mcnamara. He told the jury the govern
ment expected to prove that Sadie Tolk Wis
Tied the office Of DR.. Thompson or Dr. Leon.
and that upon the payment of SIS had a
criminal operation performed on her. The
establishment Of that fact, he said. would
entitle the government to a conviction.
its opening statement. 1t is understood.
however. that the defense will attempt to
prove DR.. Leon did not perform an opera
ton on the girl and if such an operation
was performed it was by some one else.
First Witness.
Miss Voik was the first witness. She told
of finding herself in delicate condition in
November. 1905 and of visiting tie office OF
Dr.. Leon November II. Size declared she
asked him il he would perform operation
on her and was answered. she said. in the
affirmative. She detailed the operation and
said she was told by the doctor to return
on the third day thereafter if the desired
result was not accomplished. She told the
jury she paid the defendant SIS for his
services.
Counsel for the defense on cross-examina-
ton endeavo to induce the witness to
state the name of the author of her trouble,
but on objection by the prosecution Justice
Barnard ruled that the witness was not
obliged to answer. She denied that she
had taken any other means to relieve her
condition before the alleged visit to the
Office of the defendant
Two physicians testified to the girls con-
dition when she was taken to Columbia
Hospital after the operation. Clerk Mckee
of the court testified that DIR. Icons
name is not on the list of registered licensed
practitioners of medicine in the District. =
Alibi the Defense.
Shortly after court convened this morn
ing the government announced its case
closed and counsel for the defense asked
Justice Barnard to instruct the jury to re-
turn a verdict CT acquitta on the ground
that Miss Nolk the prosecuting witness,
was an accessory. Attorney Simmons for
the defense. argued that her testimony, ln-
corroborated, was not sufficient to sustain
a conviction
Assistant United States Attorney Nc
Namara in opposing the motion cited to the
court the recent decision of Justice STAFF
ford in the MaXey case. in which it was
held that the dead girl was not an Access
sorry. but was an innocent victim. The mo-
ton was overruled by Justice Barnard, who
directed the trial to proceed.
Attorney Taylor, for DR.. Leon, outlined
the defense. He told the jury he expected
to prove an aiibt, that the defendant had
never seen the girl and had never pre-
Scrbed for her.
The first witness called for the defense
was Mrs. Mary E. Thompson. wife of the
defendant. who testified that her huSha nd
was away from home at the time of the
alleged occurrence. Other witnesses testi-
fled to meeting the defendant in a local
operation was alleged to have been per-
formed.
In his own defense DR. Thompson tes-
tilted that he had never seen Miss Eolk
and had never performed operation
on her On cross examination he said
that he had succeeded to the practice of
an uncle, DR.. EdwardIeon, and had re-
tanned the uncles name.
At the conclusion of the testimony of
the defendant the case was closed. and
arguments to the jury were in progress
when this report closed.