The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-10-30
Attorney for Edith Colby
Asks for New Trial
Of Case.
PROSECUTORS TOLD
UNTRUTHs, HE SAYS
Persecution Of Client I,
Charged by Slayer's
Lawyer.

wade Parks. prosecuting attorney of
Sahuers county. resorted to perjury in
tneckinS previous attempt by his
ciieht to secure Il rehearing of her
case, John Mulligan OF Spokane ycs-
'erday asked Judge Theodore Lentz,
preslding III department No. . Of the
ulstflct court, to grant a new trial to
MISS Edith Colby of Thompson Falls,
convicted year ago of the murder
ot y. Z. Thomas, prominent Sanders
county politician.
Arguments over Mulligan's motion
ended dramatically with Il scathinr at
tack upon the two prosecutors. In an
aiIiu2Vit flled in connection with his
inotion MulliSan charged Wheeler and
IarkS with perjury in the case; in
open court he accused the state of
prosecuting his client, centering his
IRE upon Parks. He intimated that
forthcoming revelations would send
several men to prison, but went into
no details.
farks. IN reply, averred that the
pros' cution had been legal and that no
material evidence had been suppressed
Case Under Amusement.
Following the closing of the argu .
| >''N-"S "oueS JJ-ItG announced tltt he
would take the case under advisement
- VIII De probably two weeks before
u decision will be reached, In the
meanwhile Miss Colby is eagerly
awaiting the result of her attempt to
regain her freedom, after having spent
il months in the pcnitentiary at Deer
Lodge.
The shooting Of A. c. Thomas by
sation in western Montana last fall
ending as 1t did bitter political feud
IN which practically every citizen OF
sanders county had been a partisan
Miss Colby was in the employ of the
independent Enterprise a paper po-
lltlcally opposed to Thomas She de-
cared after the shooting that Thomas
had insulted her, but her defense was
based principally upon an insanity
plea. She was convicted and sen
fenced to the state prison for from 1l
to IL years.
Accused Of Perjury.
Attorney Mulligan. who conducted
Miss Colby's defense, alleged in the
affidavit accompanying the motion fol
new trial that Wheeler and Parks
committed perjury in the affidavite
with which they countered a similar
motion last spring. He accused Wheel
er of falsely stating that he had never
seen Mrs. Thomas led weeping from
the court room or overcome by emo
tion during the trial and of untr4th-
fully saying that Edith Colby told him
she feigned a faint during the trial in
order to interrupt the states ease.
Other points in Wheeler's affidavit
were also Intentionally erroneous.
Alulligan charged,
Record is Attacked.
County Attorney Parks. in the open
ing statement of the case, asked that
the affidavit introduced by Mulligan
be stricken from the records, and later
asked to be allowed to introduce an
affidavit in rebuttal. The court, how
ever, refused to permit him to reopen
the records, stating that they were
closed. Then Parks asked that the
section OF the records stating that Mrs
Thomas was placed in plain view oI
the jury, garbed in deep mourning, be
stricken out, while Mr.. Mulligan ir
return took exception to one OF ths
instructions given to the jury by th'
judge who heard the case. Judg,
Lentz announced that he had II,
power to change the records and rulet
that all evidence set out in the re
cords might be presented and con
sldered among the arguments on til.
motion for u new trial in every wa,
as IL the bill of exceptions filed hat
already been settled, pending such ac
ton by Judge Clements or the su
preme court. the only parties qualifie,
to rule on bills of exceptions i'll thi
case.
Evidence was 'Jockeyed.'
Mulligan. in his plea for a new tria
attacked the information filed b
Par&s as being insufficient. ana ais
alleged that the Introduction of evi
dence had been jockeyed' in a man
ner to nSevent the defendant from oh
taining any benefit from the testimon,
of witnesses called by her counse
citing the case of Aaron Slagle in pa,
ticular. SIagle is alleged to have Wis
tied Thomas Is minutes after tn
shooting. at which time Thomas
said to have told him. that he did nt
blame the woman for shooting him
This evidence was barred, as was tina
VN-