The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-06

y the United States criminal trials,
far from being simply inquiries
into the innocence or guilt of the
accused, have developed largely
INTO technical con .rovers.,s between
opposing attorneys. our criminal pro-
eedure seems 20 bee based NOR" on the
science of grammar and spelling than
on the administration of justice.
few examples. selected at random, will
make clear just what mean.
In 1910 Charles Dietrich and otto Hess,
morgue keepers at Cleveland, Ohio,
we're tried for appropriating and selling
the clothes of a suicide whose body had
been viewed by the coroner. They were
charged with CONVERSION. The court
discharged them because the offence
committed was larceny or enlightenment
and not conversion.
In January, 1904. Clifford Woodward
killed Edward Pediso IN Steele county,
Missouri He was found guilty of muir
der in The second degree and sentenced
70 the pententiary for ten years. In
one clause of the indictment the words
.then and there" had been omitted.
The Supreme Court declared this omis-
sion fatal, and on December Il. 1905,
reversed the lower court, although the
indictmen, left no possible doubt as to
the crime charged.
A year ago several members Of the
Ohio Legislature were sentenced {" the
penltentiary for their share in tn" hrib-
cry scandals Of tina. State. January
n. 1918, Sta.e Senator Edward T. Craw-
ford of Carroll county was arraigned
on the charge o: bribery, and the court
discharged the indictment because II
averred hat the brih" in quos ion was
collected III connection with trading
stamp bill, when N fact 1t was shown
that the alleged transaction was in con-
nection with substitute measur" deal
ing with the sam" subject. TINS, the
court held was fatal variance.
The Constitution Of Missouri requires
every indictment to end with IN" phraS"
against the peace and dignity of the
State" The reports Of that state
abound with cases in which, through
the inadvertrnce of enrolling clerks
the article the" preceding the word
estate" has ben omitted, - tlat tn
indictments terminated against the
peace and dignity Of State" Men con-
yicted of all manner of felonics hay"
been freed 10y the supreme Court of
that State solely because of this mad
yertence and without any oonsld"rati"
Of their guilt or innocence
In 1895 David Johnson was Indicted
Cor biting the ear of Reuben Mitch,
"with intent to MAIN" The ohio courts
dismissed the indictment on a demurrer
because biting an ear did not "ou'tI-
tute "maiming." some years az"
Samuel Mead was tried and found
guilty of killing one Elisha Davidson.
The proof showed that the murdered
man was in fact Elijah Davidson by
name. and the ohio supreme Court re-
yersed the lower court though Their" was
no question as To the. identity of IN"
victim.
Nor is this oheisancc to mere rules Of
grammar and orthOcpy a recent l"ga
innovation. The legal reports from tn"
earliest days reveal this same savlSA
regard for the technCilities under our
criminal laws. Thirty years ago Grorg"
Taylor was convicted of threatening to
take the life of or" l.. MCGurry in
Texas. He was found guilty and sem
fenced 10 serve tllltt years IN the lltnl-
Tertiary. The verdict Of the jury read:
I'VE, the jury, find the defendant guilty,
and assess his puni-hmcr at Coniine-
ment in the pcu.t' utiary for three
years" The Court of Appeals, in Jan
uary, 1879, reversed the lower court
because there was no shch word as
equity" in the English language.
In no feature of our criminal iuris-
prudence are We more open to criticism
than in our indictments, They are in
the first place wei nigh meaningless
10 the layman. The Ingenuity of the
prosecuting attorney Is taxed 10 draw
an indictment which shall comply with
the law and with precedent. while ~"
counsel for the defendant directs hi.
chief energies toward detecting flaws
In the instrument.
Theoretically the purpose of an in
dictmont is to aCuuant tho prisoner
with the crime with which ne Is charged.
And yet in all the cases cited the ac-
Cused was familiar with the nature of
the offence for which h" was being ,ricd
and entered n defence thereto. why is
u necessary in an Indictment for muir
der 10 d"Sorfh" with anatomical ar-
curacy the location of the wound ana
the course f the bullet? In ENGLAND
this is not deemed essential