Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1913-01-04
FOUND GUILTY OF CONTEMPT
Continued from page /

VldualS did not read the entlre sec
ton of the constitution Of the state
but failed to include the last sent
ence in their perspective Of their
constitutional rights. It was stated
that the liberty Of the press was not
protected against the publication Of
deliberate falsehood and misrepresen-
tation Of the decisions of courts even
though the publishers may feel that
public or political interests would be
served by such publications. 1t was
urged by the defendants in the case
that the public good required the
publications be made. The court took
the view That this defense was with
out merit whatever and the following
language is employed by the court
to make its opinion in this regard
clear;
1.-THE public press Is not licensed
to do evil even under the misappre.
hension that good may result there
from. The public press has no more
license to publish falsehood and de.
famation than has a private indl.
viduaI. II there be a sentiment
among the people demanding the pub.
LEGATION of falsehood and caIumny, and
charging courts with selling their
decisions, 1t must have been formed
very recently from the utterances
and publications Of yellow journals
and Undertaking magazines and VIC
lent and depraved agitators who seek
to annul the constitution Of the
United States and the constitutions
of the several states, and who have
undertaken to Witty and degrade
the courts established by the peo-
Pile themselves. But we do not be.
leve there Is such a public senti-
ment that demands that the public
press make false charges against the
courts In order that good may come
therefrom or to promote some con-
tempIated reform"
The court then goes into the mat
ter of justifiable criticism of the de-
oisions of a court and states that
Misrepresentation and fals4hood Is
not justifiable under any circum-
stances. The matter of trial by
jury in contempt cases Is taken up
in the opinion and the court holds
that a defendant does not have the
right to trial by jury in such cases.
Decisions from the United States
supreme court and from courts of
the several states are cited IN sup
port of this section of the opinion.
The court also held in the opinion
that the legislators could not abridge
the powers of the courts IN contempt
cases as the courts are coordinate
branch of the government establish
ed by the constitution.
The statutes of the state regard
ing contempt proceedings are thor
oughly construed by the court in the
opinion and it is held that in this
state contempts may be punished in
some instances as misdemeanors as
well as contempts of court. This ap-
plies to seven of the IL enumerated
contempts set out in the Statutes.
The court then states that any tri-
bunal which cannot tolerate criticism
is justly entitled to contempt but adds
that little respect Is due court
which will hesitate to check or dis
cipline those who villify and mali
ciously misrepresent it with the OBJ
ject of degrading 1t and bringing 1t
into contempt The court in comment
ing upon the line of cleavage where
criticism ends and vilification begins
said:
"Assailing the constitution as an
tiquated, holding the laws in con-
tempt and vilifying the courts through
the yellow journals of the country
have encouraged criminals in their
criminal acts and the result has been
an unprecedented wave of crime over
our country. More than hundred
criminal cases of dynamiting, the de-
struction, of vast amounts of property
and the murder Of scores OF fnno-
cent persons have been the result OF
these criminal acts. And the GRIMM
alb have received great encourage
ment from the scurrilous villainous
and criminal publications of such
journals. Courts have been almost
powerless in the matter because OF
the corruption and intimidation prac-
ticed by such criminals and journals
on the people and juries."
The court then digresses to COM
ment upon the Mcnamara cases sand
the recent dynamite trial at Indian
apolis. Justice Sullivan referred tOI
an article in yesterday morning g
Statesman in which 1t was recounted
that the foreman of the jury in the