The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-08-12

drink, which should be expurgated II
there IS to be no prejudice against
Perry's nisdemeanor:
Proverbs 20:1 Proverbs 23:2O-21.
Proverbs 23:29-32. | Corinthians Clio.
Galatians 5:21. Leyiticus 1919. Isaiah
sill. Isaiah 5.22. Isaiah 28.7. Hab-I
aklzuk 2:15.
The last of these is particularly
calculated to cause people who have
q good working knowledge of what
has been going on around here the.
past two years to feel vexed with
Perry.
The readers OF this paper are mostly
sensible and conscientious people. We
would not insult them by trying to
influence the judgment Of any six or
twelve of them drawn on jury. We
don't believe we could do so if we
tried.
A few years ago, near Ocala, one
man killed another. The killing
aroused great indignation. The Star
carried report Of the affair, made
up from statements Of witnesses and
near witnesses. the officials of the
law and the surgeons who tried to
save the victims life The Star care
fully tried to avoid arousing any IL
feeling against the defendant. Never
theless, the attorney for the defense
tried to take the case to another
county, and advanced as an argu-
ment for the removal the fact that
the Star had printed a report of the
tragedy. The editor of the paper,
called into court, said TO the judge,
the bar and many citizens, most al
of whom laughed at him for making
the statement, that no newspaper
article should be taken as evidence,
and passed the statement on to his
readers. No matter how much a
sensible juror reads, he Is going TO
try to help make up verdict by the
law and the evidence presented to
him in the courtroom.
Now. since some people persist in
saying that we sway the Judgment
of the people of this county by our
newspaper articles. we are going to-
outline a possible situation and ask a
Hypothetical question:
Few lawyers, except the beginners,
take any kind of a case that comes
along. Most of them follow certain
lines best suited to their inclination
and talents, as one merchant viii sell
groceries, another hardware, a third
drygoods, etc. A majority of law
yers, We think, prefer civil practice.
Then some appear In both civil and
criminal cases, and a few devote
themselves entirely to the latter.
These are generally called criminal
lawyers, although they may be very
good men, They make speciality
Of criminal cases. and unless they are
successful in most OF their cases they
can't keep such practice. There is no
reproach to man for being exclus-
lively in criminal practice. "A Grim
inal must have counsel, and il he has
money he is entitled to the best he
can pay for, and his lawyer will be
unworthy his calling IL he doesn't do
his very best to clear him. Now let
as suppose there is in community a
lawyer who for years makes q success
of criminal practice. Isn't it fair to
suppose that when a jury finds him
defending case for the jurors to
subsconciously think that very likely
the defendant is guilty?
We maintain that Perry Edwards
can't obtain fairer jury in any other
county than Marion.
The feeling of adherence toward
crime common to most civilized peo-
pie is not natural but artificial. Once
there was time when it was the
proper and natural thing for a man
not only to kill his neighbor but eat
him, and carry on The course of all
life IN similar fashion Some day,
probably millions of years ago. some
foolish man became possessed of the
idea that every person had a right or
| two that everybody else was bound
To respect except sometimes. We all
know how new fad viii spread, so
! probably by the end of the nine
teenth century it had amplified some
what and had come to be accepted
everywhere except in Germany, New
Guinea and few other obscure
piASCs. We sHOu4u HOW tTy 10 EStEs4tSe
our steps along this road and neu-
tralize public sentiment toward Grim
mails so that a murder trial will only
be friendly debate. in which a
criminal, il he gets the worst of it,
viii only have to express his regrets
at making such a stupid mistake and
Igo home quarreling at himself for
being a blunderer.
| There are cases where changes Of
Isvenue are needed, but they are gen
Ierally places where independent
newspapers are scarce and the people
Iare ignorant and prejudiced. They
are not like Marion county.