Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-20

against a person What happens
Under the statute creating that court
that Indictment goes autoindtieallS
over, to what? over to the next term
of the supreme court which holds its
session the third Tuesday of October.
And generally in practice they do not
get into the trial of that case until
way into November.
There is a senator sitting in this
body that knows and knows painfully
that that is true, and | refer te the
distinguished senator from Androscog-
gin, Senator Morey, who had the mis-
fortune of having a woman indicted
for murder in this county. woman
indicted for murder and under the
statutes and under the Interpretation
of the State she was not at first adj
mitted to bail.
If, fellow senator's, a person with
the presumption of innocence thrown
about him. as the Constitution of the
State of Maine and the Constitution
of the United States places upon
them, and further with the provisions
in the Constitution under the bill of
rights that everybody within the
United States shall be granted IL
speedy trial, if an innocent person.
or a person with the presumption of
innocence thrown about them with its
protecting folds, shall he | say be au-
tomatically required to anguish in
Jail from April to November with nc
possibility of getting trial?
These We're the conditions, Mr.
President, which last year prevailed
when it was afterwards proved that
an absolutely innocent woman, an
absolutely innocent woman, was sub
jected TO this treatment
And, Mr.. President, it as for these
considerations, and in consideration
of the justice that comes from it that
the lawyers of Kennebec county. the
lawyers who have always-I do not
mean the lawyers of Kennebec county
alone, but the lawyers as a hole-hava
always stood for the rights between
man and man and the rights of man
moved in this matter.
You will find among our numbers
the strongest defenders of individual
rights, the strongest defenders of in
dlvldual liberty, among the legal pro-
fession. And the lawyers came to the
Legislature and asked to have that
statute changed. And what did they
do? They drew a charter; they in
creased the Jurisdiction of the cour;
in civil matters five hundred dollars.
and made it one thousand dollars
doubling the civil business of the
court. Then what did they do? They
gave to the judge of that court, whe
is in every way competent, without
his asking for it, without his desire.
they put upon him the additional bur
Cen OF the trial of murder cases. We
hope we will not have a trial for muir
der in our midst, but we think we have
a judge very capable of trying those
cases. The leading lawyers of Ken.
heDec county came to the Iegisla-
ture and asked for this change. There
Is no politics in this matter Every
lawyer and every well-infprmed cit
zen of my county, whether Republic
can or Democrat, is in favor of this
proposition. Why? To make a court
that can do the business of this great
county. What is the proposition here?
As | have said, and the senator's can
well see, We have not asked merely
for an increase of salary The presid-
ms justice u lHdt court mas not ask
ed for any increase of salary. But
the lawyers of this county have asked
him to assume an additional burden,
and we thought it due to the present
justice of that court, that they re-
ceive an additional compensation.
Now | say while it may not have
been intended to be so placed, it in
no degree covers the situation when
this matter is placed upon the same
basis with some office holder elected,
last September, who comes to the
Legislature for an increase of salary
| am not in sympathy with that and
| do not approve of it, and | will not
vote for it when it comes up. They
knew, as the Governor says, what the