The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1914-10-22
sAHLEs REPLIES TO BENNETT.

AHLES REPLIES TO BENNETT.
st, Cloud, Mimi, Oct. Is, 1914
James r. Bennett, Esq,
i st. Cloud, Mimi
i Dear Sir-Although / dislik,
newspaper controversies feel oblig
ed to answer your letter appearing il
the Sank Centre Herald, but of which
| have received no original or cop,
from you, lest my sIrence be miscon
strued. If you had addressed the let
ter to me could possibly have salts.
fled you that there could not have
been anything misleading in the arti.
Gle appearing in the Eden Valley
Journal, and it certainly should not
have been misleading to you, as an at
torney at law.
desire to correct the article of the
Eden Valley Journal as follows: "Out
of "a cases (instead of SO cases) be-
fore the District Court and finallv
disposed of, there WIRE II (instead of
25) convictions, four (instead of five)
dismissals, and two (instead of threel
acqulttals; one case was dismissed bv
the Court and there was one disagree
ment, three (instead of one) were
sent to the States Prison, seven Tin
stead OF six) to the kerormatory, one
to the Training School, four (instead
OF two) served in the County Jail, five
paid fines and seven were sentenced
to the States Prison and Reformatorv
and the sentences suspended"
This makes ~ convictions, and the
article is not untrue when it saws
there were 20 convictions, except that
it should have been n instead of 25.
You seem to be of the opinion that
where party pleads guilty and is
sentenced to pay fine or to imprison-
ment there is no conviction. In this
you are mistaken. If you had looked
up the definition of convictions Won
would have found that a conviction
can accrue in two ways, either by de-
Fendant's confessing the offense and
pleading guilty or by his being found
guilty by verdict of a jury. l refer
you to Vol. TX of the Encyclopedias of
law and Procedure, where YOU will
ind on page 866 the following defini-
Ions OF conviction. Conviction is a.,
That legal proceeding of record
Which ascertains the guilt of the
'arty, and upon which the sentence or
Judgment is founded, as a verdict. a
lea OF guilty and outlawry and the
Ike: Cd The act of proving, finding
r determining to be guilty of an
Hense charged against person be-
ore a legal tribunal, as by confess
ion, by the verdict of a jury or bv
ne sentence of other tribunal, etc"
Blackstone says: Conviction NAV !,
ccrue In two ways, either by his (de-
confession of the offense
nd pleading guilty or by his being
ound so by the verdict of his country
81. Comm. p. 1922.
The Mass. Court (1O9 Mass. D. 1921 K
ays: Conviction is on confession or
erdict."
Crompton says e Crompton Just.
Conviction is either when a man
outlawed, or appeareth and confess.
n. or is found guilty by the inquest"
The Cal. Court said (6S Cal. 176)
so plea of guilty by defendant
conviction of him."
| hope the definitions will suffice to
It you right in your erroneous idea
what conviction is. The press has
ways informed the people when
arties plead guilty and / am certain
lat the people of Stearns County
lderstood that the ~ convictions
lring my term included all of those
no plead guilty. On this record the
rand Jury and one of the District
ldges have praised me for my dill
mt and efficient services to the
unity. feel, however, that | have
lily done my duty and do not desire
boast about my work.
Yours respectfully,
PAUL AHLES.
r. S.-f your letter was intended
create the impression that am not
good trial lawyer, I desire to saw
at am not at all ashamed of my Y
cord of cases tried by me before
ries during the past thre and a half :
ars.
advertisement. P. A.. y