The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-06-19
SPEEDY ENDING
!. OF MURDER TRIAL

Miomura and Mazda. the two Japa-
nese accused of murder in the frsf
degree, who have been for two years
awaiting trial. were acquitted yester-~
day by Judge Robinson. the decision
exciting a great deal Of attention be-
cause of the unusual circumstances
making 1t necessary. The fact that
the two accused were discharged with
out trial. ON a plea in bar mads by
w. T. Rawlins, their attorney, showed
that someone had Numbered some-
where, although the blame was not
dxed. The whole matter of the ac-
uuittal rested on the fact that Tiers
was nothing on record in the minutes
of Judge De Bolts court to show. that
the case against the accused had even
been continued from the December
term of 1906. This at once, according
10 Hawaiian precedent, placed them
beyond the Jurisdiction of the court
and there was nothing upon which
they could be held. tried or relndicted'
The presentation of the plea in bar
was made the first thing yesterday
morning, following the jury roll-caA.
and all morning was taken up by
argument, searching the minutes OF De
Bolts court and consulting authorities,
Deputy Attorney General Larnachs
who had the case in hand for his de-
partment, was nonplused by the show
ing made by Rawlins and had to
throw up his hands.
The crime, for which Mazda and
Miomura were indicted. was the kill
ing of another japanese, Katsujiro
Mineoka, in a brawl at Eva on June
16, 1906 They were indicted in Sep
tember of the same year and cana ur
to plead before Judge De Bolt in
December of 1906, their cases going
over.
Here is where the hiatus comes in
no record being available of COM
mitment to another term
The plea in bar, sustained reluctant
ly yesterday morning by Judge Rob-
inson, was:
Now comes Mazda, one of the de-
fendants herein, and moves this Hon
orable Court that he be discharged
and not compelled to answer or stand
trial on the indictment now on file
against him on the following grounds,
THAT the indictment was return
ed against him and filed in this court
at the September A. D. 1905 term and
that he was not tried at said Septem-
Der A. D. 1906 term of this court.
I '2-That this court at the terra
aforesaid made no order granting s.
change of venue, and further that no
order has been issued or made by the
First Circuit Court or any Judge there
of continuing or postponing the trial
of said cause upon said indictment to.
the January term, 1907, of this court
"3+That the failure to prosecute up
on said indictment found at said Sep
TENDER term, A. D. 1906, operates as
an acquittal of this defendant.
"4-That the defendant herein should
be discharged as he has already been
acquitted of the offense alleged in TIE
Indictment upon which this trial is
now to proceed, and now pleads an
trefois acquit
"This motion is based upon all the
records and papers now on file in this
court and upon testimony to be ad-
duced in support thereof"
TT is not the duty of this court to
legislate, it is merely the duty of the
court to construe and administer and
apply the law as 1t finds it and as
the Legislature enacts. And reluctant
as I am to allow the pleas in bar
particularly in this case because OF
dts character and because of the
gravity and magnitude of the crime
greatest known to our
law-I see no other way out of it in
view of the provisions of our statute
and of the decision of the Supreme
Court by Mr.. Justice Hartwell in King
VS.. Tin All Chin ct al, Bird Haw aG
Let the pleas in bar be and the
same are hereby allowed, and let the
defendants be and they are discharg-
ed"