The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-02
NEWS OF THE NORTHWEST
CELEBRATED NANDAN
Pig" CASE ENDED

Bismarck, N. D., Oct, 2.-Yesterday
the supreme court handed down a
decision in the cas- of North Dakota
VS.. Joseph Winbauer reversing the
decision of the Barnes county court
and ordering that sentence be enforc-
ed against the defendant. Unless the
defense petitions the supreme court
for a r~e-hearing, within fifteen days,
this Is. h end of the so-called Man
dan blind pig cases."
1t will be recalled that in the fall
of 1907 Judge e. T. Burke and Assist
ant Attorney General Miller created
something Of a sensation by the whole
sale indictment of offenders against
the prohibition law in Morton county.
Judge Burke stirred up the animals
by dismissing a grand jury as biased
and unfair, and converting another,
which brought in the. indictment
against the offenders against the pro-
hibition law. These cases were taken
to Barnes county where a conviction
was had'a against five of them and the
district and supreme court ever since.
Special interest is attached to the
decision in the Winbauer case as it Is
Identical with the case Of Peter
Schantz. Schantz was indicted in
1907 and convicted in February, 1908,
and sentenced by Judge Burke at that
time to ninety days in the county Jail
and a fine Of 5000. Unless a petition
for a re-hearing is made to the court
within fifteen days this settles all of
the cases and Schantz, as we'll as Win
bauer, will have to serve his ninety
days and submit to a fine of $500 for
violation Of the prohibition law.
The question settled by the court i'll
this case was, whether or not the ir-
Irregularities practiced by Judge Burke
in sentencing the convicted offenders
against the prohibition law in Bis
marck rather than Valley City, was
of such a nature as to set aside the
Judgment n the sentence. 1t APP
pears from the records that the term
of court at which these piggers were
convicted adjourned on Feb. 7. 1908,
and that OF Feb. 13, 1908 sentence was
passed upon them in the chamber of
the house of representatives at Bis
marck by Judge Burke and that each
was sentenced to ninety days in Jail
and the payment of a fine of 5000. On
Feb. IL, 1903, or just two days less
one year after the pr%onouncing
of sentence an appeal was made to
the supreme court on the ground that
judgment had never been entered by
the clerk Of the court of Barnes coun-
" against tHeSe ~end On Dec
"a, 1909, Judge Burke issued a special
order directing the clerk of. the court
Barnes county to enter judgment
and sentence as of date Feb. 10, 1908.
On March 8, 1910, on application of
the defendants the supreme court al
lowed the cases to be Withdrawn from
their jurisdiction without prejudice
and ordered them remanded to the
court for further proceedings
under the law. An application was at
made to Judge Coffey Of the
Fifth judicial district to have the
Judgment and sentence set aside. At
ter hearing the motion Judge Coffey
issued an order on Nov. 10, 1911, ad-
judging that the Judgment and sent
ence of Feb. Is. 1908 was void and
that it be set aside, vacated, annulled
and declared absolutely void. Assist
Atty. Gen. Alfred Euger repre-
sented the state at this hearing and
the attorney generals office at once
appealed to the supreme court. Judge
Burke was disqualified n Judge
Kneeshaw OF the Seventh judicial dis
trict sat in his place and wrote the
opinion, in which he declared that the
of the district Judge pass
ing sentence upon the defendant. but
side of his district did not make void
or set aside the Judgment or the sent
ence and the court ordered that the
proper officials proceed to enforce the
sentence against Winhauer. The same
will be taken against Peter
Schantz and Alex. Froelich of Nor
ton county,,