Weekly journal-miner., 1921-05-25
Katich Defended His Honor And Life; Defense Forecast
 Tn Case Involv;,1g Assault

honor of his home were indicated by counsel yesterday afternoon as lines upon which Kosta Katich will resist conviction on a charge of having committed an assault with murderous intent. Mrs. Katich, tall, stalwart Serbian woman, became then the cen ter of interest in a trial that up to that moment was devoid of more than passing interest.
 Belief of Katich that Emil Kovaco- vich, who was said by P. w. OSul- livan of defense counsel to have been an Austrian, was intent on harming the defendant, will be de- veloped today, it was understood, as the motive that led Katich on March 10 last to open fire ill the Jerome justice court and wound Policeman w. S. Kirby in the legs.
 The world war also crept into the case in the statement of the de fense prior to opening its testimony, to the effect that during the war Katich, leaning toward Serbia and the allies, had striven to advance the cause, and that Kovacovich, sympa- thetic toward the central powers, had opposed him. The relevancy of this portion of MT. O'Sullivan's statement was straitly questioned by Attorney Sullivan, and for moment O'Sul- livan and Sullivan stood before Judge Sweeney in hostile verbal ar ray.
 These and turmoil over the se- lection of an interpreter, constituted the chief happenings of the first day of the Katich trial. The defense .ap propriated some of the prosecution's witnesses to testify as to the good. reputation of Katich prior to the shooting.
 That Emil Kovacovich stood upon one side and Katich on the other in the small reflections of world con flict at Jerome, was the declarations of Attorney P. w. O'Sullivan. The prosecution indicated it was not ex- cited over the amount of Liberty bonds "this patriot" may have bought, referring to the defendant, and Judge Sweeney allowed the state ment to proceed on the avowal of the attorney that it would develop it's relevancy during the testimony. Moreover, MT. O'Sullivan said the defense would show, Kovacovich had intimidated Katich and had at one time attempted to embrace Mrs. Katich. On the day of the shooting, O'Sullivan asserted, Kovacovich sent one of his clerks to tell Katich to show up in the justice court, and 1t was in response to this request that Katich had ventured to the place Of the near tragedy. There he encoun- tered Kovacovich. O'Sullivan said it would be shown that Kovacovich called Katich a vile name in Serbian and thrust his hand in his pocket "as though to draw something" Thereupon Katich drew and opened fire, but with poor craftsmanship.
 The prosecution put in testimony relative to the occurrence by means of a number of eye-witnesseS, in cluding Kovacovich and Kirby. Frank Pecharich said he had heard Katich threaten to shoot Kovacovich. J. c. Crowley, police chief at Jerome, identified a permit to carry firearms issued~ in 1918 to Katich and cover ing .25 caliber automatic. No per init, the witness said, had ever been issued him to carry .38 Smith & Wesson special, the arm with which the alleged assault was committed.
 Mike Pavlika proved a poor inter preter, in the opinion of the state. | He was used because there was no other interpreter, but even before he was sworn, he aroused no enthusiasm among states attorneys. Kovacovich moved up and sat between Sullivan and Westervelt, apparently to check the interpretation of questions.
 Katich sat on the witness chair and Pavlika near him. Questions in Serbian and replies of the witness were executed in low tone, and the prosecution asked three or four times