Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-19
EDITOR NOT GUILTY
IN CONTEMPT CASE
Anyone Has Right to Respect
fully Differ from Court and
Criticise Law, Says Judge.

| JEFFERSON CITY Mo-, April Ia
| William r. Nelson, editor and owner
of the Kansas City Star, was found
not guilty OF malice in the pubiica-
ton Of the article for which he was
adjudEed guilty of contempt of court
and sentenced to day in Jail last
February by Circuit Judge Joseph A.
Guthrie.
THE article itself was substantially
true" and unless, in the courts
opinion, that article in itself is con-
temptuous," the petitioner should be
discharged.
These We're the findings reported
TO the Missouri Supreme Court today
by Its commissioner in the case
Charles C. Grow, of Kansas City.
The article complained of stated
that Judge Guthrie had refused to
dismiss the divorce suit of Minnie L.
against Claude f. Clevinger until at
torney's fees were paid, and that the
refusal came after the Clevingers
had been reconciled and had asked
the dismissal OF the case.
Your commissioner finds" saws
the report, that the author of this
article complained of, Mr.. Murphy.
was layman, and moreover even
had he been learned in the law he
would have been of the opinion that
In
unusual in that 1t imposed conditions
upon the right of the plaintiff To dis
miss suit for divorce.
Your commissioner is of the opinion
that under the evidence petitioner
had no personal knowledge of the
article complained of until after its
publication, and Mr. Murphy and
Karl Walter Ohe man who edited the
article, were servants of the peti-
tioner and made an honest effort to
report correctly the proceedings that
had occurred in the Circuit Court of
Jackson county, Mo-. without any in
tention of offending the dignity of or
Impeding the proceedings of the Cir
cult Court.
There was cause for comment on
the order in the Clevinger case deny
ing the plaintiff the right to dismiss
her case until the husband eomplied
with the conditions imposed in the
order, and | am inclined to believe
that Mr. Murphy was correct in saw
ing that ii tended to prevent a
reconciliation of husband and wife.
in which society is deeply interested.
Every person has the right to pub
lish his understanding of what a
court has decided and to differ with
the court as TO what the law is and
also to criticise the law, as long ar
least as the citation does not attennnt
to impugn the motives of the court
or to charge corruption or infamv
and thereby attempt to bring our
courts into disrepute."
The ruling, the report says. apnlies
TO all articles except an Interview
with Judge Ralph Latshaw. of the
Criminal Court. This interview, pub
lished in the Star, quoted Judge Lat
shaw as saying the decision of Judge
Guthrie was Outrageous" and that
he would never "allow Mr. Nelson to
be locked up in Jail"
The report holds that this article
Should be excluded for the additional
reason that it was publication of
a statement made by Judge of the
Criminal Court of Jackson county re-
ferring to what the judge intended to
do officially. In the opinion of your
commissioner this interview should be
stricken from the record on the
ground that it was scandalous on the
part of the judge giving it, Your
commissioner cannot find serious
fault with a layman for repeating
the statement"