Evening star., 1922-07-11
EX-JUDGE IS CITED
IN CONTEMPT CASE
Summoned to Juvenile Court
to Explain Statements
Tribunal Calls Insulting.

Willis Brown. former justice of a
Utah state court and now engaged
IN boy welfare work in this city,
must appear in contempt proceedings
July 20 before Judge Kathryn Sellers
of the Juvenile Court and explain
statements recently published over
his name which offended the dignity
of the court. The article is said to
have criticized the Juvenile Court
for its procedure in child delinquency
cases.
Judge Sellers yesterday overruled
Mr.. Browns motions for a demurrer
to dismiss the case and for the sub
stitution of another Judge to hear
the proceedings. In these motions
Mr.. Brown alleged lack Of jurisdic-
tion and raised other technical points
against the rule issued against him
to show cause why he should not
be found in contempt Following the
overruling OF these motions the de-
fendant filed his answer to the
charges. denying them specifically
Statement Held "Impertinent."
The article whose authorship is at
tributed to Mr.. Brown appears to the
court to be ''impertinent. scandalous.
insulting and contemptuous and re-
and its officers" II also appears il is
pointed out in the rule to show cause.
that the article is calculated to de-
stroy the confidence of the people of
the District of Columbia in the Juve-
nile Court of the District of Colum bia
and the present judge of the court.
and to mislead them as to the pro-
cedure of that court and to intimidate
the Judge of the Juvenile Court. when
the case of Willard E. Foss is
brought for further proceedings"
The published statements purport to
outline the legal steps taken in re-
turning to his home boy, Willard E.
Foss whom the board of childrens
guardians had taken from the Indus
trial Home School and placed in a
private home. Judge Sellers is quoted
as informing the writer of the ar
ticle that I'VE have an understanding
with the board of children's guar
dians that they will not send child
back to its home without our permis-
sion." The contempt rule character
ICES this quotation as untrue and
misleading. such. statement not hav-
ing been made by the judge and be-
ing calculated to mislead the readers
of the newspaper into the belief that
no child. dependent or delinquent.
cbuld be placed back into its home
without the consent Of the court.
Quotation by Defense.
IN answer 10 lUlS utHldl Oh tne
authenticity of the words quoted. the
defendant cites that in the rule noti-
flying him to show cause for alleged
contempt Judge Sellers makes vir-
tually the same statement, in the fol-
lowing words: "a friendly agreement
exists between the board of children5
guardians and the Juvenile Court. un-
der which no delinquent child on
probation to the board in a case con-
tinued for, further proceedings will
be placed back in it's home without
the consent of the Juvenile Court"
Mr.. Brown makes specific denial
in his answer that he was the author
of any published article containing
language that is "impertinent, scan.
dalous, insulting and contemptuous
regarding the Juvenile Court; that he
ever misouoted Judge Sellers in an
article in the newspaper mentioned,
or that the quoting of Judge Sellers
about the understanding said to exist
between the court and the board or
childfen's guardians was untrue or
misleading.
at 1 O'Clock in the afternoon or
Thursday, q week hence.