The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-01-31
WILL START CASE OVER AGAIN
Attorneys for Defendant Demand His
Discharge When It Is Found No Pre-
lininary Hearing Was Held in Case
--Newhouse Case Not Affected.

The first case to test prohibition
rule in Pleasant Prairie and Somers
died aborning in the Municipal Court
on Friday afternoon when after jury
had been drawn to- hear the charges
against Pat Devine and the court had
settled himself down for a long siege
of listening to evidence and instructing
a jury, it was discovered that Devine
had not been given a preliminary hear
ing. The six good men and true who
were to have heard the case, perked up
when Attorney Drury, for the defen-
dant, proposed the motion to discharge.
They were more interested when the
district attorney showed willingness
not to oppose the motion.
Devine had been arrested weeks ago
and the proceeding had been taken
along the same lines as has usually
been followed in cases where selling
liquor without license was charged.
1T went along very well up to the time
that the witnesses were to be called.
The defendant appeared and entered a
plea of "not guilty" and with much
labor the court drew the jury to listen
to the evidence. Then the attorneys
examined the law under which the
prosecution was being made and dis
covered what they termed the "fatal !"
error in the proceedings. The law
holds that men arrested for the viola
ton of prohibition regulations are en-
titled to preliminary hearing. The
district attorney at once suggested that
he was ready to go ahead and have an
erraignment Of Devine for q prelimin-
AIRY hearing and to stipulate that the
Jury could wait until after this hear
ing was disposed of. This was oppos-
ed by the attorneys for the defendant
and Judge Tully expressed doubt as to
his right to hold a preliminary hear
ing after q jury had been called for
the trial Of the case. He then entered
the formal order dismissing the charges
against Devine.
"We shall reopen the case at once "
declared District Attorney Fisher this
morning. "The evidence against De-
vine is just the same as it was and
he has not been put in Jeopardy. The
only thing thai bothers is that there
will be some delay in getting the case
started again. We must start all over
with a new complaint and Devine will
have to be arrested again. If the peo-
pie who are interested in the prose
cution appear we will go right ahead
with a new proceeding just as if
nothing had happened
The fiasco in the Devine case does
not in any way effect the case brought
by the state against Matt Newhouse
of the town Of Somers, who was charg-
ed with the same offense as Devine.
The district attorney has announced
that there will be preliminary hear
ing in the Newhouse case and that he
win seek to have Newhouse bound
over for trial in keeping with all of the
provisions of the statutes. The New
house case will be a test Of the case of
the state against Devine and it is pos
sible that the district attorney will
elect to finish up the trial of the case
against Newhouse before he seeks an
other arrest of Devine.
1t is declared that people in both
Pleasant Prairie and Somers will con
tinue to back the prosecution regard
less of the technicality which brought
the discharge Of Devine on Friday.
The collecting of evidence against
places in the two towns has been 60
ing forward and it is possible that
there will be other defendants to
come into court along with Devine
later in the year.