Arizona republican., 1912-04-10
WANT
 CONVICTIONS
Difference of Opinion Be tween Chief and Judge as to What Constitutes Sui
 ficient Evidence; Inter esting Session of Court.

There was rather more episode than usual in police court yesterday afternoon.
 In the first place out of total of seven prisoners there were only two ! MeNicans, thus reversing the usual | percentage. Secondly the court and the chief Of police had an argument over what constitutes evidence upon which conviction may be secured Chief of Police Moore insinuated that his department is not being properly backed up by the court, and
 that il is discouraging to his officers to have so many prisoners released when their cases are put on trial. Judge Thomas declared that he Was there to administer justice and that he could not see his way clear
 to send people to jail where suffi- not been adduced to warrant such conviction, even though the police are confident of the guilt of culprt "T am the judge and jury here" said the court, and l must admnis-
 ter the affairs of this court as seem to me just to the accused. We may not look upon these matters in the same light but the prisoners brought
 before me are entitled to a fair
 trial under the evidence and I pro-
 pose that they shall have it.
 "l think that when an officer has
 made an arrest he has performed his full duty, and when he has laid his evidence before the court his re- sponsibility ends and it is then up to the court to determine what dis position shall be made of the matter under all the evidence.
 "A police officer should not he of
 tended nor should his efficiency be impaired because every man or wo- man he arrests cannot be convicted. The policeman is employed to pre- serve order and to make arrests where he deems arrests are neces- sary It is not his province to try the case"
 There has been some friction be- tween the police department and the court for some time. the department feeling after the fashion of police men everywhere that q prisoner IS guilty until proven innocent The court necessarily takes the opposite view point. and adopts the rule laid down by the common law that a de- fendant is innocent until proven guilty by a preponderance of all the evidence.
 The passage at arms was precipi- tated by the arraignment Of Frances Aguilar who was charged with i'm proper conduct The woman pleaded not guilty. and the court sustained the pleading on the grounds that the police had not produced suffi- cient evidence to sustain the com plaint
 Leonard Kendrick, who lives in Glendale. was heard on charge of violating the speed ordinance. Motor Policeman Hosmer testified that Kendrick was travelling out Grand avenue at twenty-seVen mile breeze. This information came as ' great surprise to Kendrick who ! didn't suppose his machine could go | as fast as that He might have i speeded up .'leetle mite," but surely i not faster than fifteen niles an hour. The evidence was conclusive and the | Glendale boy given until the first of . the month to pay the fifteen dollars fine.
 Jesse Holt pleaded guilty to strik- ' ing his wife Margaret last night dur { ing an altercation in China Alley The little family jar cost Mir Holt ten dollars which he went to search | for accompanied by an officer. Holt is the negro who was shot through