Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-04-14

furnishing you cause to vote for the
removal of Mr.. Hines, it is that some
time since the first of January he has
been wilfully negligent in the per-
Torrance of his duties in this, that he
has failed to sue out scire facias
writs
| Now | understand, and I know that
IL is true, that there are many MEM
| bers of this convention who are attor-
! neys and who understand without any
| explanation from me what a scire
| facias writ is, but to the laymen 4
| may be termed as being "all Creek"
and perhaps an explanation from me
| at this time might not be amiss.
The ordinary liquor prosection be-
gins by complaint before some magis-
trate in the city of Lewiston. before
the Lewiston Municipal Court. The
respondent is arrested and brought
! in, and it is customary for him to be
arraigned upon two complaints in
volving the same evidence, and really
making the same case. One of these
we call search and seizure, the other
a nuisance complaint. Now the
Municipal Court in Lewiston has the
power and the authority to punish for
search and seizure violations and it is
ordinarily done there, but they have
no power-the judge has no power
whatever-to infiict or impose SEN
tence upon any one who is found
guilty of maintaining nuisance.
therefore that respondent is bound over
to the next term of the supreme
court. There evidence is produced
before the grand jury and an indict-
M In,
bond is given for his appearance
there when the Indictment is found IN
the supreme court, and if the re-
spondent doesn't appear, then the
sureties on that bond or recognizance.
call it what you will, are defaulted.
They are also defaulted in the search
and seizure case. and the sentence Oh
the lower court in case of that kind
goes into immediate effect, So far as
the search and seizure is concerned,
and the defaulted case remains upon
the docket, there to be prosecuted fur
Their. NW0H
Now then, they say that at the
January term there We're number oil
cases-some sixty odd-a number ef
indictments. and after being called up
the respondents failed to answer. ana
that falling to answer they We're de-
faulted. and they say that because al
ter that default the county attorney
didn't sue out his scire faeias wrlts
that therefore, by reason of that fait-
ure. he wilfully neglected and refused
to perform his duty.
Now gentlemen. what is the law N
regard to scire facias writs? Let me
read it for you. Section SO of Chapte:
SO reads as follows:
mo scire facias shall be served on
bail unless within one year after
judgment was rendered against the
principal: nor on sureties IN recos
niZances in criminal cases unless with
in one year after default of the princi-
pal"
It is a matter of discretion with him
entirely, a matter of judgment. Inc
law does not say that one day after
adjournment or after deiauit scire
faeias shall be brought; it does not
impose upon the county attorney the
duty within thirty days TO bring MS
scire facias writs, but 1t says that ne
shall have a year in which to do Il
Now as near as we can find OUT, the
January term of the Supreme Court IN
Androscoggin county adjourned some
where along the middle or the latter
mart of the month of February, so tnat
when court adjourned, ii that is true
the statement make in regard TO 1t
7 won't be positive about 1.-THE state
claims that because from the 18th of
February. if that is the date. up 20 the
present time Mr.. Hines has failed 70
sue out his scire facias writs, that by
e he ha fharpf0rp
or wilfully neglected and refused to
perform his duties.
Gentlemen, / have read the law of
Maine to you in that respect. 1t Is
for YOU to say whether a man, with
year before him to perform his duty,
has wiIfully refused or neglected to
do it if he fails to do it within 90
days That is the proposition for you
to decide We maintain that it in
wolves no wilful neglect or no wilful
refusal.
There has also been evidence intro
duced here by the state through the
clerk of courts. Mr.. Belleau. that at
no term did Mr.. Hines ask for bench
warrants, warrants to be issued and
respondents to be arrested upon them
and brought before the court Now it
is well known to the attorneys, Mr.
SHELTON has been through the same
performance. and Mr.. Morey. the Sen
ator from Androscoggin. has been
through this same experience, and Mr..
SHELTON knows himself that in 1894 at
least, there wasn't single respon-
dent except che brought before the
supreme court to answer to a liquor
Indictment. that he didn't ask for
bench warrant, and the records will
show it, and Mr.. Skelton-no one de-
MES his honor, no one denies his in
tegrity, and no one has any dispute
about his intelligence and his jndg-
ment-and the reason that he didn't
ask for them was this, that he knew
that il they were issued he would not
be able to find a single respondent
within the limits of Androscoggin
county He knows, and / know. and
|every attorney practicing at the An
droscoggin oar knows this. that there
is a sort of wireless goes out from
that court room at the mere men
ton of the issuance of bench war