Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-07-25
Judge William H, Pope, in
Opinion MerciIesSIy Ar
faigns albuquerque Law
Finn Because Of Conduct,
0vERRULES VERDICT
RENDERED BY JURY
Court Declares Counsel for
Plaintiff Violated Bar Asso-
citation Code; Evidence Log
lCaIIy Anayzed.

isssclAl oarAtcs 10 MORNING IouaaAu
SANTA fe. July 2i-What il prob
ably the scvercst grllllng of New
Mexico attorneys on any official rer.
ord. was today handed an Aibuauor-
cue law firm, by Federal Judge Will
Ham II. Pope, IN remarkably inter-
estng oplnion IN the case of Flor
7 cnee Lillian Garolu an infant, by Ed
gar \. Wilson. her next friend. VA
Petra q. Garcia. individually and
I ietra q. Garcia. as administratrix of
The estate of Elias O. Garen. decens-
ed, Leopoldo Macon. Andres Ro-
nero. Juan Antonio Garcia ana
Louis Traucr.
The plaintiff represented hv Mar
ron Wood. of Alhuquefque. had
sued to establish her claims ia part
of the large estate of Elias Garein Of
Befnalillo county, setting up that the
deceased had acknowledged her in
writing as his own daughter Judge
Pope rules against the plaintiff, al
though jury upon which the case
had been submitted upon findings had
answered that Garcia was the father
fot the plaintiff and that he several
letters relied upon as his acknowledge
ment Of her paternity were written
by Garcia. and that In certain lost
letters he made similar declarations
lpeknowledging the plaintiff to be
his child. Judge r. A. Mann. John
Nenable and Felix Raca, of Albuquer-
que were counsel for the defense.
Coeently. logically Judge Pope.
In his opinion, anulyzes the evidence
IN support of both propositions and
destroys the fabric reared upon IT,
The sensational mutiaton of one of
the envelopes In which one of the
three letters alleged To have been
written by Garein. and the placing Of
a one-cent stamp upon il after II had
passed through the mails. is discuss
led Just after the following severe
STRUCTURES on conduct of counsel are
made.
Attorneys Scored
ION June %, 1909. Wilson and
Bessie Speight were united in mar
.riage according To the rites Of the
church. The plaintiff, thus born out
of wedlock. was, by the declaration
Of the mother to the civil authorities.
brought under the protection Of the
sacred relationship thus formed It
would thus, Independent OF anything
else. have grown up as the child of
Bessie Speight and Tony wilson This
result would accord not only with
the probabilities of the matter as
above stated, but also with the phys
lcal appearance of the child which
present In court was of the American
rather than the Spanish type. The
marriage Of Wilson and Bessie
spelght on June 2S. 1908, therefore,
seemed n fortunate conclusion 10 the
checkered ana pathetic girlhood en-
feer Of Bessie Speight 1t seemed
also a most deslrous settlement for
tall time Of any questions surround
ing the plaintiffs paternity. There
might the matter well have rested,
land there would II probably have
rested but for the temptation to en-
ter into litigation presented 70 Bes-
sic Speight by publication IN one
I Of the Salt Lake city newspapers.
4 This was in the form ut IN advertise
tn4eut inserted by counsel for plain-
ltiff in which. IN effect. their services
We're offered her to secure her rights
las the wife Of Elias Garcia such
an advertisement was in the courts
npfninu. clear divergence from
proper professional standards. The
code Of ethics of the American Bar
association, which but crystallize the
rules handed down from former gen
erntions of great lawyers, contains
the following statement
"1t is unprofessional for lawyer
To volunteer advice to bring "A law
suit. except in rare cases whore ties
of blood, relationship or trust make
II his duty to do So Stirring up STRIFE
and LITIGATION is not only unprofes-
sional but It Is ndictable at common
law. II is disreputable to hunt up de-
fects In titles or other causes OF ac-
ton and inform thereof in order 70
be employed TO bring suit or Ia preed
litigation by seeking out those wlth
claims for personal injuries or those
having any other grounds OF ACTON
IN order to secure them az clients.
'Trhe same code states that inc
solicitation OF business by circulars
or advertisements. or by personal
or interviews, not
warranted by personal relations, IS
,lnp4ofessional II was said BY no
less "a parsonage than Abraham lin
coin. great not only as patriot nut
as lawyer. that as peacemakeI'
the lawyer has a superior opportunl-
" OF being a good man Never SUE
up litigation worse man can
scarcely be found than one VINO aoes
this Who can be more nearly hehu
than he who hahitually overhauls the
ra,,ister Of deeds i'm search of defects
In ttles. whereupon to stir up STRIFE
ana put money In his pocket a NOR
nj ZONE ought to be enforced IN the
profession which would drive such
men ont Of it, -
NO cause ever illustrates more
fulv the desirability of a strict ad-
herence ia professional proprieties-
M case ever more fully showed that
ia ignore even for the moment the
,nles which time has sanctioned as
those which should govern the EN-
ployment OF an attorney hy a client Is
to enter upon a sea without COM
pass. and usually 20 make the uiti-
mate destination of the litigant a port
simply of disappointment and dis