The San Francisco call., 1913-08-03
FLOAT |NG COURT
ON LAST VOYAGE
Revenue Cutter Thetis Car
ries Judge and Attaches
Along Alaskan Coast
Defects of Cruising Tribunal
Cause Opposition, Which
May Prevail
Especial Correspondence to The Call,

Especial Correspondence TO The CalD
SEWARD. Alaska, July 2o.-The
United States revenue cutter Thetis
bearing the floating court" departed
yesterday from Seward. bound for Bris-
toi bay Court will be first held al
Dillingham; and after, in regular order
the northern brand Of Justice will be
dispensed at Nushagak, Afognak
Dutch Harbor Sand Point. Unga,
Kodiak. Illiamna, Seldovia and other
places where the white man or the
little brown brother of the north has
gone contrary to the law.
There are a number Of cases this
year OF a serious nature-poaching
selling whisky to natives. stealing from
caches and murder. The native who
killed United States Mail Carrier Bow
drey while on the mail run from Coal
bay to Nushagak. last winter. will be
tried at Dillingham; for murder in the
first degree.
LAST CIRCUIT, PERHAPS
There is strong sentiment in Alaska
against the floating court, and this
method OF administering justice Will
In all probability, be abolished after
this trip.
Under the present plan the deputy
prosecuting attorney. with marshal
goes ahead of the court and carefully
prepares the cases Upon the arrival
OF the court a jury IS summoned. and
there is a scarcity of population IN
most OF the settlements. and the IN
habitants have in almost all cases
formed opinions. Ii is difficult to select
a Jury from them. and therefore 1t
becomes necessary to draw a jury from
the sailors from the Thetis.
ff1s-r ave q " l.
able in most of the villages, and the
defendant must put up with the at
torney appointed by the court. who is
a member of the tribunal taken along
for just this purpose.
All of these things. it is argued.
weigh against the defendant getting an
acquittal and would be obviated were
the court held at point where 1t were
possible for ar accused man to get an
absolutely unprejudiced jury and
choice of legal talent to bring out the
points of his case.
IT is not charged that an innocent
man was ever in the history OF the
floating court in any way given the
worst of it. but it has been pointed out
that a case might come up whereby a
man charged with crime might be
innocent and not able to prove 1t with
the limited resources at his command.
The matter of expense also enters
largely into the matter. 1t has been
conclusively shown that the cases that
are annually heard while the Thetfs is
on her western tour could be heard at
this point at a cost to the government
Of not more than one-half OF what 1t
now costs to bring them to trial.
AN EMERGENCY SERVICE
The floating court was hrst estab-
lished to meet a difficulty that had
arisen in the administering of the law
at points far removed from an estab-
Tshed court. 1t was thought that in
the interests of economy a court on a
revenue cutter could best handle the
difficulty. but a thorough trial of three
years has demonstrated that this
method of administering justice is not
satisfactory and that there will have
TO be another system evolved. In all
probability the solution to the question
will be the establishment of q term of
court each year at Seward.
The present court on the Thetfs con-
sists Of Judge Robert Jennings. Dis
trict Attorney walker, Clerk Of the
Court Thomas Scott, Deputy Prose
cutting Attorney w. H. Whittlessey,
Deputy Marshal Goshaw, Court Stenog
rapher Hamberg, Marshal Sorby and
Attorney A. J. Diamond. for any posi-
BILE defense.
They expect TO return about septem-