Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-25
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
David B. Hills Hard Luck in Two Famous Cases

l was chatting with one of the JUS
tees of the Supreme Court OF New
York State year or two after the
death of David B. Hill, who was twice
elected Governor Of New York, and
served one term in the United States
Senate, and who was the candidate
of the Democratic organization in
New York for the Presidential nomin-
alton in 1892. The judge told me an
interesting anecdote about Mr.. Hill,
but in view of the fact that he was
one of the justices who heard great
argument in a murder case made by
Hill, he asked me not to make use of
his name.
1 had said to the judge that I often
wondered whether Hill had taken seri-
ously to heart his defeat for the Presi-
Dental nominNtion in 1892 by Grover
Cleveland.
AZ never saw any evidence either in
Hills manner or in what he said that
he was particularly disappointed be-
cause Cleveland beat him for the
Presidential nomination" he replied.
81 do know, however, that he did
| take to heart bitterly his defeat before
the court after he had appeared as
counsel for Albert S. Patrick and
made an argument in support of the
reversal of the verdict by which Pat
rick had been found guilty of murder
in the first degree.
| Governor Hill was retained by
! friends of Patrick who, you will re-
member was convicted after a most
sensational trial as accessory to the
murder of a very wealthy man named
Rice, with intent to secure a large
part of the latter's fortune,
| Governor Hill was retained by
at 900. think 1t was the largest
fee he ever received. He took up the
case rather reluctantly, but after he
began work upon it he became in
tensely interested in it. His analysis
of the evidence upon which Patrick
| was convicted was wonderfully clear
and profound He became convinced
that upon the evidence Patrick should
never have been convicted. He be-
gan to make a, personal matter of this
professional employment, and by the
time the court was ready to hear the
argument he had become completely
absorbed in the case.
His argument was one of the
ablest ever delivered before the court
AS a piece of reasoning it was clear
and his argument was utterly free
from any rhetorical effort. He tried
| to demonstrate his case as he would
have demonstrated a problem oil
mathematics.
HE lost his case, although the
court was nearly equally divided
There was one majority against him
The loss of that case almost made
| Governor Hill i'll. He took it griev,
ously to heart, and it was some weeks
| hafore he was able to concentrate his
mind upon his other professional
| work.
1T have good reasons for presuminE
that 1t was largely due to Governor
Hills argument that Patrick's sen.
! tence was committed by the governor
shortly after to Imprisonment fol
life.
Nov, here was a queer feature Of
Governor Hills professional practise
in this respect. He was retained
| twice In capital cases, once by the
friends of Albert j. Patrick, and aft.
| erward by the State to make the
| argument before the Court of Appeals
in favor OF sustaining the verdict by
| which Roland B, Molineux had beer
convicted. in another sensational
| trial. of murder in the first degree
| The friends of Molineux retained
John G. Milburn to make the argu'
ment in favor of granting new trial
Governor Hills argument in favor o
sustaining the verdict was mastery