Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-12-27
OVER 800 CRIMINAL
CASES 1878 RECORD
Messrs. Osborne and Martin
Average Trial a Day During
Court Term.
EIGHT MURDERERS ARE
SENTENCED TO DEATH
Third Judge Has Been Called
to Help Clear congested
Calendar.
By DUKE WELLINGTON

BY DUKE WELLINGTON
In the neighborhood OF 800 persons
have faced the two county judges OF
Essex county this year on criminal
charges, and of that number over CSC
have either pleaded guilty or been
found guilty on trial OF charges
against them. When 1t is considered
that Judges William P. Martin and
Harry v. Osborne each devote less
than twenty-six of the f1fty-two
weeks In the year to criminal bust
ness, 1t can be seen that there has
been no idleness on teh part of the
courts or the county prosecutor S
office in the handling of criminal busi-
ness.
Despite this, the calendar OF the
criminal court Is crowded to the limit
at the present time, SO much 80 that
a third Judge is to be borrowed from
other counties of the State for two or
three months to help out Judges Mar
tin and Osborne. One of the county
judges sits In the hearing of criminal
cases each week, the other Judge de-
voting his time to the hearing of Or
phan's Court and other matters that
come before the Court of Common
Pleas.
At that, the statement that the
Judges each devote twenty-six weeks
to the hearing of criminal cases in
each year Ia not the correct one. They
really devote half the time they are
on the bench to the disposition of
criminal matters. The summer vaca-
ton leaves the courts in practical
idleness for eight weeks, while at
Christmas time two more weeks are
idle ones for the criminal courts,
making about sixteen weeks the
actual time that is devoted by each
Judge to the hearing of criminal cases,
or thirty-two weeks in the year when
both judges are considered.
Therefore, when 1t is considered that
800 cases have been disposed of dur
ing the year just closing 1t figures out
that an average of twenty-five cases
were handled each week in criminal
court-a very good record, taking into
view the fact that some of the cases
occupied four, five and in some in
stances six or eight days tn try.
1t must, of course, be taken into
consideration that not all of the 800
cases were trial cases, for such Is not
the case, by any means. The actual
trials held by Judges Martin and Os-
borne during the year numbered 218,
an average OF more than one for
every day of the week. When IL is
considered that some of the counties
of the State do not average one crimi-
nal trial week in the upper courts.
1t can be understood how heavy
the criminal business OF the county
really is.
OF the 21S trials. sS of them took
place before Judge William p. Martin,
70 of them resulting in convictions and
% in acquittals. two ending in dis
agreements. Judge Osborne handled
100 actual trials during the year, re-
sulting in 50 convictions, So acquittals
and two disagreements. In 181 cases
prisoners, rather than stand trial in
Quarter Sessions Court, retracted
their pleas OF not guilty to pleas of
guilty or non vult, while in Special
Sessions Court 405 cases were disposed
of, of which 352 either pleaded guilty
or were found guilty after q trial
without Jury, while 53 were found
not guilty by the Judge after trial.
These figures, taken unofficially from
the court records, show a total of S04
cases, in 6SS of which the persons
charged with crime were found guilty
on trial or pleaded guilty rather than
face trial, while in 112 instances the
persons were freed after trial. four
cases resulting in disagreements.
During the year thirteen persons
were brought to trial for murder.
eight of these cases coming before
Judge Martin and FIVE before Judge
Osborne. OF the persons tried before
Judge Martin six were found guilty
of murder in the first degree, while
one was acquitted. In one case. that
of the first trial of Antonio Fiore, the
Jury disagreed, Fiore being convicted
on a second trial.
The trials before Judge Martin were
those of Mrs. Maddulena Ciccone for
the murder of her husband, Leonardo
Ciccone; Salvatore Loponio for the
murder of Policeman John ]. Nc
Govern; Antonio Fiore. implicated
with Mrs, Ciccone. two trials; John
Dolan for the murder of his wife;
Angelo Ceceriello for the murder of
his wife, and Adolph Kubascke for
the murder of Mary Berlinsky. his
affinity All these were found guilty
fenced to the death penalty. One man,
Joseph Ferrara, charged with the
murder of his brother, was tried be-
fore Judge Martin and acquitted.
Before Judge Osborne were tried
William Overton, a negro, who MUIR
dered his wife and infant child, and
Alfonso Laudisi, who killed the infant
child Of his slster-in-law, of which he
was the father. These two men were
found guilty and both now face the
death penalty. Giuseppe Longo, tiled
for the murder of Luigi Scardi, Was
found guilty of manslaughter, while
in the cases of Peter Deskowich,
charged with the murder of his wife,
and Baldasarre Sarauso. charged with