New-York tribune., 1910-01-22
THE BAR AND THE THAy SCANDAL.

Il III II Ban ANIt Il III II IN " GCAA DAL.
The State Bar association should take
action on the scandal of the Thaw case,
which is presented for its consideration
in effective language by its committee
on the criminal insane. This case is
such a standing disgrace to the admin
lstration of the criminal law in this
state that the Bar Association cannot
overlook it if it has the credit of the
courts and of the law at heart The
first trial was, as the committee says,
"a disgra aceful farce" IT brought more
shame upon the state than any other
Judicial proceeding that we can recall.
The conduct of the medical experts well
merits the epithet 'unscrupulous" which
the committee applies to it. And the
circumstances of his various moves to
obtain release from Mattea wan. the in
cessant writs Of habcas corpus, the long
and pleasant vacation from an asylum
in an eleven-room apartment in a
county. Jail, from which frequent ex-
Cursions in an automobile on trumped-
up excuses were permitted, have put a
blot upon this state that will not easily
be effaced.
Moreover, every one fears. as the Bar
Association committee does. that this
disgrace has not yet reached its climax;
that the "plot''-so the committee calls
it-of the family of this degenerate and
debauchee, with their experts and their
counsel, will be successful: that, as the
committee says, ut is mere question
'of time and money when this particular
murderer will be set free to direct his
'homicidal inclinations against some
''other citizen who has already fallen or
may hereafter come under his displeas-
"ure." That will be the crowning scan
dial, when the judge is found whose
'head is not able to control his heart
and who will be influenced by the ap-
pearance before him of counsel shrewdly
chosen, as the committee intimates. on
the ground that he is persona gratn"
to the bench and by the testimony of
experts with opinions for sale
The use of wealth in this case to de-
feat justice, without parallel, so far as
we are aware, in this state, has brought
to the attention of the public the weak
nesSeS of the law regarding the deten-
ton of the criminal insane. The law
which permits unrestricted employment
of the writ of hdbedS corpus to in uire
into the sanity Of such persons-a proc
ess which may be harmless in the case
of prisoners of ordinary means-is open
to scandal0us abuse when great wealth
is involved. The expense alone would
prevent the ordinary insane criminal
from excessive use of the writ When
expense is no consideration it's use be-
comes means of feeling for the weak
spots in the judicial system.
The suggestion which the committee
makes in respect to limiting the right
Of insane prisoners to resort to the writ
of hGbeGs corpus should be attentively
considered by the State Bar Associa-
ton. Though not couched in the same
terms, it is similar i'll intent to a sug-
gestion already made by committee OF
the Bar Association Of this county. Fur
thermore, the whole subject of the per-
version of expert testimony and the
abuse of the defence of insanity in Grim
inal trials may also well be considered
by the association. No two things are
doing more than these two to bring the
law into contempt.