The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-11-10
Life Imprisonment for Police
Court OMense.
That Is What the Huron Judg.
ment Amounts To.
He Points Out Judges Unnec-
essary Seventies.
Judge Dana Will Pass ON InlS
Unusual Sentence.

Ifr relief is not granted in the higher
courts n p HalIoweII. the 12-year-
Ala ,-.+ar,n Of the Civil War, is due
fnr a perpetuaI term OF imp
ment in the city jail. unless Juose
Huron. who presides over the ponce
eourr suffers a change of heart anu
in moved to parole him. ms u .A.e
contention of John J. Schench' a.
eorney for HaIIoweu He preseneso
it forcefuIly to Judge Dana VI IL
district court at the nearing Saul AL
on HaIIoveI1s petition for WIFI Oh
bahaas cornus that would free him
from further punishment under the
rather unusual sentence that Judge
Huron imposed upon him rurtner-
more Mr. Schenck insisted that per
sonaI enmity on the part OF Juose
Huron against Halloweu was PROP
ably larger factor in the seventy
of the sentence than the merits OK the
case or the proportions OF the crime
charged against the old man
HaIIowelI was arrested a couple OF
months ago on accusations OF v1o-
IatIng the prohfbitory law. Judge
Huron convicted him for selling
haIf-pint of whisky and also con-
strued this sale, which occurred IN
HaIIoweIrs rooms. as involving the
-erms of the prohibitory law Hal
DWELL was thus adjudged guilty OF
violating the prohibitory law on two
separate counts and was sentenced
by Judge Huron to so days in jail
and to pay a fine of $500 on each
count. or a total sentence of 10 days
in Jail and fine Of $500 for what
was practically no more than sale
Of a half-pint Of whisky. Ha1lowen's
application for a parole that would
release him from Jail after he had
served so days was denied by Judge
Huron. A petition signed by many
prominent and substantial citizens
favoring this parole was presented to
Judge Huron but was not so much as
read by him as a matter of record in
the hearing he gave on the parole.
At this hearing a committee headed
by Mrs. Lucia o. Case, representing
the Women's Good Government club
protested against the granting of the
parole on the ground that it was in
imical to public interests to show any
leniency to violators of the prohibit
tory law Then HalloweII, through
Mr. Schenck. sued out a writ of ha-
oeas corpus in the district court in
which he asked for the abrogation
of the sentence imposed by Judge
Huron on the ground that it was ex-
cessively severe and denied him any
thing that savored of real Justice
During the tendency of this proceed
ing Halloweu has been out on bail
The hearing of the writ was held by
Judge Dana on Saturday afternoon.
and he will render a decision in the
case within a few days
Cnwarranted by Law.
At this hearing Mr.. Schenck also at
tackled the validity of the sentence i'm
posed by Judge Huron He pointed
out that in the police court Journal
Judge Huron had entered the sentence
IN specific terms that would keep Hat
lowell in Jail until his fine lis paid"
Mr. Schenck argued that the law pro-
vided that a defendant could ouIy be
committed to jail until the terms of
MS sentence had been complied
with Ordinarily it was possible for
a defendant committed to Jail and
fined to comply with his sentence by
working out his fine at the rate Of 81
a day, as provided for in the city ordi-
nances. Were HaIIoweII able TO do
this his Jail sentence would approxi-
mate two years. But Mr.. Scheuck in
sisted that even his right to so work
out his fine was denied him in fact
because of the terms of the sentence
which declared that he must stand
committed to Jail until the fine was
paid Such sentence is absolutely
unwarranted by law, declared Mr.
Schenck- and because the sentence
vas irregular In this particular it was
null and void in its entirety
MIR. HauoweI took the stand and
testified that he was financially un-
able to pay the fine against him. and
that he had not been in a position to
put up the $1,000 bond demanded by
Judge Huron IN case he had desired
70 appeal to the district court from his
police court sentence. He also stated
that his physical condition was such
that he could not perform any kind
of labor, that he had been unable to
work for several years.
Hallowell's Son on stand.
s. j. Hallowell. a son. was also a
witness. He confirmed his fathers
testimony about the Iatter's financial
inability to pay the fine. He told of
the efforts he had made to get his
father a parole and of several con
versations he had on this subject with
Judge Huron He recounted Judge
Huron'S story to him concerning the
HalloweIl divorce case of a couple Of
years ago. In this case Judge Huron
was the first attorney for Mrs HALO
we'll HaIlowell had been ordered ro
pay his wife's attorney a fee of $50.
After Judge Huron had done some
work in the case, Mrs. HaIIoweu
placed it in the hands of another law
yer. and HallowelI paid the fee in
question to this lawyer. Judge Huron
thought he was entitled to this fee,
and young Halloweu swore thar as
Judge Huron concluded the story of
this incident, he remarked: Your
old father thought he was prettv
smart when he turned this money over
20 another lawyer. wonder what he
IS thinking now At that time the
elder Hal1oweu was in the bull pen AT
rhe city Jail serving the sentence i'm
posed upon him by Judge Huron.
Huron Denies.
Later on in the hearing when Judge
Huron was on the witness stand he de-
MED that he had made any such re-
mark to young Ha1loweu- He insisted
that he was not influenced in any way
by his experience in the divorce case
IN passing Judgment on HaIIoweu or re-
rusinx to parole him. He declared thar