Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-02-15
LEGAL AFFAIRS
Spicy Hearing on Giving Right to Re-
move County Attorneys

Bills to give the Governor the power
to remove county attorneys and to COM
pei county attorney to keep his docket
! cleaned up and TO stop the general mol
pressing of county attorneys were consid .
cred together at a hearing before the
committee on legal affairs WEDNESDAYS
afternoon. 1t developed at the hearing
that Senator Charles II. Wood of Han
cock county and Representative Hodgdon
G. Russell of Belfast, members of the
committee, are former county attorneys,
and the arguments which they had with
Rev. Wilbur F. Berry of Waterville, one
of the secretaries of the Christian Civic
League of Maine. with the assistance o.
Representative Edward F. Murray OF
Bangor. another member of the commit
tee, were interesting.
Senator Merrill of Somerset, who intro
duced both bills, spoke in favor of them.
Senator Merrill said that under the pres
ent law the county attorney has the alb
solute control of his docket in both civil
and criminal cases, and he has the pow
err to wipe out a case by mol pressing 1t.
1t was to remedy abuses of the law that
one Of the bills was introduced and the
other was in line with the recommended
ton contained in the Governors inaugur-
al address.
Representative Barnes of Houlton said
that the bill was drawn to prescribe
the duties of county attorneys. as there
was an inconsistency in the practice of
some of the prosecuting officers. Rep.
Barnes offered some amendments to the
bill which would require county attor-
neys to clean up their dockets which
provides that every county attorney I'M
less he makes an order of dismissal
shall diligently and without delay rHos-
ecute to final judgment all his cases in
the superior and the supre:ae judicial
courts. Another amendment provides
that the county attorney shall institute
scre facias proceedings on which bail
has been defaulted unless the presiding
justice in. open court may grant a delay
in the proceedings.
LAS the law IS at present" said Rep.
Barnes, there Is now power to compel
county attorneys to institute scire ia
cias proceedings on bond, in other
words, the court can't order the county
attorney to start scire facias proceed
ngs." Rep Barnes told the commit
tee that these amendments or the pro-
posed law does not AFFECT counties
where there is probation officer.
Rev. Wilbur F. Berry of Waterville,
one of the secretaries of the Christian
Civic League of Maine spoke OF the ne
cessity, as he claimed, for law which
would not give county attorney so
much power in mol pressing cases. He
spoke of the fact in a period Of years,
according to statistics gathered by the
Civic League. 10000 liquor cases were
brought up in the courts Of Maine and
of this number more than one-half of
them were mol pressed
II know of an instance" said Rev
Mr. Berry, wherein IL indictments
were brought against man in a certain
county. he pleaded guilty to all OF the
indictments and at the next term all of
them were mol pressed"
Suppose" said Senator Wood Of Han
cock, that a dozen cases were found
against a man and he was found guilty
on three of them. Don't you suppose
that those three were enough on which
he should receive sentence?
did you ever hear any complaint
against me, Mr. Berry. when I was the
county attorney Of Hancock" asked Sen.
ator Wood
ma I did not" replied DR.. Berry.
well" continued Senator Wood. the
grand iury at one term of court down
in NV county OF Hancock. retured IS
indictments against a man and 1t wasn't
liouor case. He was convicted and
..rta,nsd N 10 years on one of the
Jndictments and | mol pressed all the