The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-26
JUDGE GREEN HELD FOR ISSUING FAKE
 DIVORCE PAPERS
Was Very Reasonable In His Alleged Charges, As S25 Sent Any Client Away
 Rejoicing

Judge James F. Green, leading
 lawyer of this city and city rccord-
 CT for ten years, was arrested by
 Deputy Marshal A. Fl. Borders
 October 12, federal officers de-
 cIining at the time to give out any
 information on the subject, ,vas
 Monday morning too i'll to appear
 before Commissioner K. B. Carr,
 under charge growing out of
 alleged wholesale distribution Of
 fake divorces and federal charges of using the mails to defraud.
 The large number of witnesses who had been summoned to appear against him at a preliminary hearing this morning we're called before the federa. grand jury which is Investigating the case.
 The first public announcement of Judge Greens recent arrest was made Monday after his physician had re- ported to Commissioner Carr and As- sistant District Attorney Jim Smith that he was seriously ill at his home
 in the city. Judge Green has oeen confined to his home here since his re- turn from Mobile a month ago. and unless there is an improvement in his condition he will never be tried for the government offense.
 The arrest of Judge Green caused a genuine sensation in this city and ', as brought about at the instigation of a postoffice inspector who had 5eeu working on the case for the past few weeks. According to information se- cured by the inspector detailed on .he case more than a dozen of the fake divorce decrees have been sold during the last year to people residing Tn and near Cedartown. many Illegal mag riages having been contracted on the nished by the accused attorney had many illegitimate children having been born as a result of the unions thus brought about
 The postoffice inspectors allege lhar the opreations charged against the Nn. niston man cover a period of several years and that the money secured by him in payment Of the decrees will run into the thousands of dollars The method used in the sale of the divorcs decrees. as unesrthed by the inspec tors, seems to have been followed with closer attention in the state of Georgia than amy orhef place, dozens of witnesses having been secured by the iuvestiga- ttion made by the postoffieeg depart-I mcnt when the matter was reported several months ago.
 Just what method of adYer.isine used by the Anniston attorney to se~ cure the applications in such largo numbers has not been disclosed by the inspectors for the department but is is Known that many of the fake di- vorces have been discoyered in differ- ent sections of Georgia
 Many of them are said 10 have been pret, rded copies of the original decree. filled Tn with typewriter. and the nan,e of the presiding judge supposed to have issued the order in many ,ase, being supplied also by the typewriter method. Others Of the decrees in ,os- session of the postoffice departm mt are said 10 bear the written signatures of Judge Hugh D. Merrill in som. eases and of Clerk, A. H. Shepperd. in others, an additional charge of forgery possibly to arise in connection with the governments prosecution following the extensive developments brought about and made public by the arrest of the Anniston lawyer.
 In their investigations the postoffice inspectors detailed on the case cams across several local cases where the fake decrees had been issued to them. and in other cases men and omen both were found who made the claim that they had paid the stipulated s2s in full settlement for the decrees with out receiving even the Illegal kind aI-
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