Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1911-12-15
COUNTY COURT
Continued from Page ~
Herald.

cept Tor the ADMISSION OF the base as
sault by the defence and the claim that
it was Unstable, every important
statement of fact made by the one side
was denied by the other, and the testi-
mony on the whole consisted of tangled
mass of contradictions and denials.
With this case pending, a recess was
taken at eleven o'clock Saturday fore
noon until O'Clock Monday afternoon,
when the consideration of the case was
resumed, with the defence to the fore
The testimony was all got in by II
O'Clock Tuesday forenoon and brief argu-
ments for their respective sides by Mr.
LaFeur and Mr.. Fish and a forty
minute charge by Judge Butler took up
the time until 1920 p. m, when the jury
retired to take up their deliberations,
Charles S. James of Weybridge having
been appointed their foreman.
The jury worked on the case all
Tuesday night and shortly after 9
o'clock Wednesday morning came into
court with verdict pronouncing the
defendant guilty of the assault charged
and awarding the plaintiff $50 damages
and COSTA result far from salts
factory to either side after so long and
sharp a trial.
The case of Louisa Thompson, APP
pellant VS. Scion Burroughs admins
traitor, which was standing next in
order for trial, was put over until some
day next week on account of the ina
blity to be here of two of the counsel
engaged Thomas w. Maloney of
Rutland and Rufus E. Brown of Bur-
lington, who were busy on important
cases in other County courts. This
case is one of considerable consequence.
1t is an appeal from the action of the
commissioners for the estate of the
late Scion Burroughs of Waltham and
involves something like $4,000.
The case of Arthur J. Blackmer VS.
William j. Smith was taken from the
jury calendar and set for hearing by
the court, and a number of other cases
were held open, as not being ready for
trial, and no trial was started Wednes-
day forenoon.
At the afternoon session the first
criminal trial of the term was begun
and ended, there being no civil case
ready to come on. The case was State
VS. Paul Hawkins, who pleaded not
guilty to an information charging him
with having in his possession at Lake
Dunmore on November 4th last an
implement known as a gaff-hook, with
the intention of using it for the pur-
pose of catching lake trout while on
their spawning beds at the north end of
the lake, near which place the re-
pondent has summer cottage. States
Attorney futile presented the case,
which was originated by County Fish
and Game Warden George II. Chaffee
of Middlebury, and Mr.. LaFleur con-
Quoted the defense. There were only
three witnesses on each side and the
trial was completed in less than three
hours. The respondent admitted having
had the gaff-hook in his possession at
the time and place named and in the
closed season for lake trout, but denied
having any intention of using it for I'M
lawful purposes, but for purposes
altogether legal and proper only.
The testimony was completed at 4
O'Clock and after the lawyers had talked
to the jury for about ten minutes each
Judge Butler gave them the case in a
seven minute charge. The jury were
out only 20 minutes, when they re-
turned with verdict of mot guilty"
whereupon the respondent was dis
charged.
Thursday morning Ellis Cooper of
Panton was arraigned and pleaded
guilty" to an information charging
him with forging the name of M. F.
Barnes of Panton to check on the Yer
gennes National bank at Panton on the
2lst days of last October. The check
was for $27 and Cooper got the money
on it and left Vergennes the same night.
Later he was arrested in western New
York and brought back and has been in
the County Jail for about a month. In
stating the case to the court States
Attorney futile said that there are
known to be at least four or five similar
cases against Cooper and that he was
wanted in Burlington on a like charge,
having been for some time in Burling-
ton before he first appeared in Panton
last spring. Mr.. Fish said some good
words for the respondent, who is 80
years old and has a wife but no children.
After lengthy conference the court
sentenced Cooper to serve not more
than two years nor less than one year