Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-28
He
PICKED HIS
NJR|ES
Colonel Huff's Counsel Adds to
Accusations Of Official Mis-
conduct Against Jurist.

SAVANNAH, Jan. 2S.1One of the
4btterest denunciations of Judge
n Emory Speer made during the hear
ing before the Congressional Inves-
\ eating Committee, looking into the
4 charges of official misconduct against
3 he aged jurist, was that of Attor-
\ ney General Thomas S. Fielder, at Sa-
4 yannah to-day.
4 After charging him with illegally
4 drawing a jury in the trial of two
peonage cases at Macon and forcing
4 he defendants to accept thereon three
4 men who had in previous cases been
+ favored with receiverships, at the
. request of Chairman Webb he gave
The following opinion of Judge Speer's
& administration:
1t is a known fact among lawyers
on this circuit that one can look at
mis- face at the beginning of trial
\ and tell whether he will win OF lose
case. No lawyer who is gentle
man can practice in his court and
not know and feel this instinctively.
We Are All Kings testers"
We all like to fight fair and above
the table, but we can not do 1t in
his court 1t seems that justice has
no part and that the truth is never
looked for. We are all kings testers
for him to sharpen his wits upon. The
court is known as Judge Speers'
court not the United States District
Court.
The layman knows and the lawyer
knows that if he can hope to win
case in Judge Speer's court he must
i get a lawyer who, for the while at
least, basks in the sunshine of Judge
Speer's favor.
Il would say unequivocally that
Judge Speer's administration is I'M
satisfactory and the wonder is that
the people have suffered so long, 1t
gives me no pleasure to make these
remarks, but l thing it is my duty
to my people, the people of Georgia
INSISTS ACtio0 iIc9di.
IN Congressman Howard cross
examining Mr.. Fielder, tried to bring
out that in selecting a jury from
list in the hands of the Marshal as
MIR. Fielder said he did, Judge Speer
had really been a benefactor to At
iofney Fielder and to the defendants
He found Mr.. Fielder agreed with him
on this point so far as his defend
ants being acquitted, but reiterated
The charge that the jury had been
illegally drawn and no judge on any
bench could draw jury in such
Way without violating the law.
according TO Mr.. Fielder in the trial
o' the Brannan peonage case, judge
speer permitted jury TO be drawn
from a list of jurors in the hands oil
the Marshal and not from the jury
box Mr. Fielder said that the list
bore the names of those in the box
out that instead of being drawn they
we're selected and all were from Ma
i9n
Mr. Fielder took the greater part OF
.he morning session in reviewing the
huff case. bringing out nothing that
htd not been PUT in the record in Ma
.an by Colonel H9ff's own statement
Cites Peonage Cases.
Mr. Fielder was first asked il hi
hhew anything of charges of officia
.Msconduct against Judge Speer
1t was in 1910 that | was in the
Iaannan peonage case" he said .
vent to the court to see the jury list
became suspicious in learning thai
s4 the jurors were from Macon
asked about it and found the names
mad not been drawn from the box
Ntt selected from a list, The law il
pam on this point. The jurors SHOULD
'a drawn from the box in the pres
's p of the clerk and marshal II
.af case. however | was told tina
gorge White. the marshal. ha'
Continued on PAGE z, Column 4.