El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-26
Instructed Verdict Acquits Owen
Case Against the Attorney
Comes to End Thurs
day Morning.

~ an instructed verdict, rem
dered Thursday morning, Charles
owen, who was charged by In
dictment with attempt at subordinatioa
OF perjury, was acquitted
The case was settled on legal
technicalitv. Judge A NJ Walthau,
presiding in the trial instructed the
jury to return a verdict of not guilty
after the jury had been in the court
room a short time and before any
further testimony was given.
owen had been placed on trial We'd
nCAQay morning The refusal of judge
Walthau to admit the testimony. Of
J. D. Lee given at the Van Horn
trial of Mrs Agnes Orner, resulted in
district attorney W. w. Brtdgers stat
ing that there was not any necessity
OF the state going further in the
Owen case" The instructions for the
Jury to return verdict Of not guilty
for the defendant followed district
attorney Bridgers' announcement.
Lee Testimony Excluded.
Thursday morning judge Walthau
stated that the court was In error in
admitting the testimony Of j. D. Lee.
He said that it would be excluded
1rcm the record and the jury was not
TO consider the testimony Judge
Walthau said that he considered the
defence was correct in its position
Then district attorney Br1QgeTS
said, under the courts ruling one
could not be guilty of subOrnatiOn Of
perjury. IF that is true then the
state doesn't care to 80 any further"
There was a pause. Nv ell said w.
p. Ware, rising TO his feet, eff the
state does not want to go any fur l
Their the only thing the court can do 1
is to instruct the jury to return YER I
dict for the defendant"
ct believe" said district attorney
Bridgers, chat the state is entitled to 4
show that the defendant was counsel I
Fru a.
tion of perjury charge had something /
to do with the testimony Of j. D. Lee
"The object in introducing the tes-
timony of Lee is for the purpose OF
showing the materiality of the evil
dence sought to be introduced"
Judge Walthau then Instructed the
Jury to return verdict Of not guilty.
The jury did so without leaving the
8Iaese is Recalled.
1Taese was recalled by the state Wedues-
day afternoon and testified that he did not
know who subpenaed him to go to Van
Horn. At Van Horn the witness said he
saw Owen in the back part Of a saloon
Fryer Tells Of Dictaph0ne.
W H. Fryer was placed on the stand
He testified that he was at Peaks under
taking establishment on october b, 1918
County attorney P r. Price, judge Jack
son. Stanley Good, ST., the deputy sheriff,
were also there, Fryer said
Il was in the basement OF the place"
Fryer said. Il had dictaphone. don't
know anything about the mechanical con
sensitized telephone. 7 was at the trans
hitting end The receiving end was hung
behind a dresser in Masses room
1 could recognize his voice"
Fryer added that he did not know that
Judge Jackson was in the room where the ,
dictagraph had been hung, or in what
position he stood.
The defence argued that the witness ( Z
should know the position Of the person I
relative 90 the dictagraph before 1t could / I
possibly be known that there was correct
Transmission of sound.
Did Not Hear All Of Conversation. t
Fryer stated that he took down only
what he heard. what was connected up"
and what he thought that he would per I
laps have to swear to. He admitted that {
he did not take down all the conversation. ?
rhereupon judge T. A. Falvey objected to
he introduction Of any OF the statements q
IN the ground thar only a part had been /
transcribed and those parts omitted might
De explanatory. T
Defence Makes Objection. j
w B. Ware for the defence. contended
hat the statements being disjointed showed e
he fallibuity OF the dictaphoue or the a
inability Of the witness to hear and tran e
cribe the conversation.
Fryer stated that he would not saw that !
he statements he subscribed were the sub 3
tanee OF the conversation. He said that
was not
The objection was overruIed. c
after they had been in there about 10
linutesH Fryer said, Il heard owen say,
Reads Dietaphone Record. S
The notes Of the supposed conversation
'etween owen and Maese read by Fryer
-ere: About 1911 T.
owen: 7 want you to be sure. When b
''sIaese: In June July. or latter part h
Z August
20 How do you figure when YOU went
o work there Do you think you were ~
rorlzng there at this timer Il
an: NO, was working there in July h
ugust when I quit n
20: Il have been down yonder to Hius n
rug store this morning asking for YOU q,
hey said no I asked them where YOU -
ere. 1t is all right for me to 20 ahead a.
looks like i am going down there to ~
nd out before see you. I wiz 20 down 4,
here and find out, and if you were not ~
-orling there, you were working at the
.her.'
M: 4 was working there. I think G.
GU can go and see. I was there about n
lree months Then 7 came rlsha down h
go How did you work I'm the sfoss9 - q
''N: I was under the direction Of II
AN there. old man Hill n
"O.- And he kept asking you N
bout this, kept asking you about it, q
e. sounds like the name hi
..N- q WON'T get into trouble % ID