The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1920-05-14
MCGREG0R CASE
AGAIN IN COURT
Attempt Made by Attorney Gen
eral Ford to Reopen McGreg-
or Election Case.
TAKEN UNDER AMUSEMENT
Court Hears Prominent Attorneys
Monday in Argument on Motion to
Vacate the Judgment in the
McGregOr Case.

Arguments on the motion to vacate
the judgment of dismissal of the Nc.
GregOr election case were heard ir
district court by Judge Hall on Mon
day of this week. Attorney General
Ford introduced evidence in support of
his motion and put on the stand Judge
Hurly of the Montana supreme court;
Oscar Cutting, clerk of the district
court; l. w. Choate, code commissions
er of the state and former assistant
attorney general; Otto Gerth, assist
ant attorney general, and County At
torney c. D. Borton.
Slattery & Kline, who have been de-
Tending McGregor's interests in the
case in resisting the motion, called as
witnesses Attorney George E. Hurd
Attorney John M. Kline and S. c.
Small of the Milk River Valley bank
! The testimony of Judge Hurry show
ed that some time in January or Feb
ruary, 1919, Attorney John M. Kline
asked for a continuance of the Nc.
Gregor case amongst others and stat.
ed that his partner Mr.. Slattery was
out of the city and would be unable tc
be IN attendance at the trial. Nc
minute entry of the exact conversation
had been made and the judge was un-
able to remember what was said in
detail.
There was an agreement among the
attorneys that there was to be nc
court trial during the month of Aug
uSt.
Clerk of Court Cutting was called
to the stand and testified tnat it was
tn Oh .ly1 IL.
calendar and not make a minute entry
OF It. However, he admitted that the
McGregor case had never been on the
calendar.
Mr.. Choate, who was assistant at
torney general at the time the elec-
ton cases in Valley county came up
testified that he was here and con-
Quoted the states side of the case in
the Parsons trial and at the request
OF the attorney general made an in
vestlgation to ascertain if a challenge
to the jury panel would lie. He sale
that he afterwards advised the attor.
ney general that it would be useless
to try the McGregor case before the
jurors -se4eeced for-she January term
In his testimony he said that the at.
torney generals office did not want
the case tried at the January term
Mr.. Slattery wished to know on what
grounds they did not want to try the
case at that time. Mr.. Choate ans
Wered: particularly on the ground
that we considered the jury venire
then in attendance particularly un-
qualified to render fair and Impair
tlal verdict in trial of that sort"
This opinion he later said was arrived
at after conversations with certain
persons while in Glasgow. He also
testified that he did not ask either
Judge Jones or Judge Hurry to have
the McGregor case arraigned at that
time.
County Attorney Borton testified
that he had no knowledge of the ap-
pllcation for continuance of the Nc
Gregor case and did not discuss the
case or its continuance with Slattery
and Kline or either of them during the
January term.
Assistant Attorney General Gerth
testified that he was in Glasgow for
the trial of the McGregor case; that
he had talked with Mr.. Choate and the
attorney general and understood that
the case was to go over the February
term to later date but he had no
definite information. On cross ex-
animation, Mr.. Gerth stated that he
was present in chambers Just before
the judgment of dismissal in the Nc
Gregor case, that Mr.. Cutting was
called in and stated to Judge Hall that
ne did not know why the case in con-
troversy had not been tried before.
Mr.. Gerth further testified that Judge
Hall stated that he would give Mr.
Gerth whatever time he needed to
make showing. He assorted that
ne made no statement to Judge Hall
that any postponement had been ask
ed or that he had any such impress
sion; instead, he told the court, he
didn't have any facts which would
warrant him in making a showing
against the motion for a dismissal.
When again examined by Mr.. Ford.
Mr.. Gerth said that he did not have
any knowledge that the defendant had.
asked Judge Hurry for a continuance,
that he knew Mr.. Slattery was in the
senate and he had "a vague, uncon-
sclous impression that the McGregor
case had been continued agreeable to
both parties" but had no information
to support that impression.
Attorney George E. Hurd was call
ed by the defendant and testified that
he had had telephone conversation
with Judge Hurry on either July 28th
or goth, 1919, in which the judge
stated that Mr.. Borton and Mr.. Slat-
terry insisted on the calling of a term
of court for August. Mr.. Hurd said
he objected as he was going to take
a vacation.
S. c. Small, cashier of the Milk
River Valley bank, was called and tes-
titled that he had conversation with
Judge Hurry in Helena and ne believed
that it was some time in February,
1920. He said that he had the i'm
preston after the conversation that
Judge Hurry had said something which
indicated that Mr. Slattery while in
the senate had asked him for a con-
tinuance of this case because he, Mr.. |
Slattery, did not wish to lose the time
out of the senate. However, he said, |
it was merely an impression and he
could not remember any definite re-
marks made by the judge relative to
the matter.
In Judge Hurly's testimony, the
Judge specifically denied that he ever