The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1919-08-15

One of the most unwarranted and venolnous attacks
Valley County News last Friday when the editor of that
paper taking upon himself the duties of both judge and
jury brought in verdict of guilty against the men who
were indicted by the recent grand jury.
Premedtated malice bias, prejudice and plain mean
outstanding features in an article dealing with the
recent indictment Every decent precedent is shattered
every sense of fairness disgraced.
Charging, assuming, convicting, the local organ OF
spite backens characters with abandon and assures Its
readers that accusations of cminaty and that
charges of crime nothing less than conviction and
blighting of lives.
Unfair unjust deceitful he says "Guilty as Charged
and would deny the accused the right to employ COM
petent counsel. ;
The law says quite plainly that every accused of
crime is Innocent and that innocence clear and without
prejudice until such time the accused may be found to
be guilty.
In determining the guilt innocence Of accused
person every safeguard is thrown around him by the
court He entitled to fair and impartial trial by jury
of his feowczens he has voice in the selection OF
that jury he can challenge members OF the
jury panel thus hayg a without giving
He entitled to counsel to look after and conserve his
interests In the event that he is unable to secure cou
y made the duty of the judge of the court to appoint at
the expense of the state suitable counsel so that the inter-
ess of the accused shall not suffer- whatever his station
and whatever his financial condition.
Here, for instance the identical instructions re-
quired by law to be given by judge in his charge to
jury in the trial Of person accused OF crime:
''You are instructed that the defendant comes in
court protected by the presumption OF law that ne
is innocent of any crime, and particularly the crime
charged against him in the information The defend
ant is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is esab
shed to a moral certainty and beyond reasonable
doubt. This presumption attends him at every step
and throughout the entire and to it's benefits he
is entitled upon every question of law and fact That
he has been suspected and charged with perperatOn
of a crime does not in any degree tend to show his
guilt or removc from him this presumption of inno-
cence which the law throws about him. The inf0rma-
ton this case only formal written accusation of
crime required essential preliminary to a trial
but in itself not any evidence of crime. 1t is
y formal charge for the purpose of putting the de-
fendant upon trial and should not influence you in
irving at your verdct should it be allowed to in
any way prejudice you against the defendant, but
should determine his guilt innocence by careful
consideration of all of the evidence introduced in the
case during the trial.
1T is incumbent upon the state to prove every ma
teria allegation of the information to your satsfac
tiOn beOnd a reasonable doubt.
"In case of a reasonable doubt whether defend
ants guilt is satisfactorily shown he is entitled to
quittal.'
These things clear, they fundamental they
not at all new they peculiar to this great country
Magma Charta the great bill of rights forced from
early English king had these provisions and const
tuition only follows the lines laid down in that document
of liberty.
It is quite improbable that anyone will seriously crit
ice these provisions so long established and universal
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