Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1922-07-19
Failure of Election Judges To Re.
turn Last For Jury Duty
Nullifies Case According
To a Recent
Ruling.
INDICTMENTS AGAINST
BUDLONG SET ASIDE
Failure to Certify Names in Tama
County Results in Quashing of
Charges and Inyaldation
Work of Grand
Jury.

excluded from jury service by cleo.
ton judges or county supervisors
according to an important opinion
rendered by Judge Willett in dis.
trict court here Saturday. Because
of the ruling the indictments return
ed against A. E. Budlong, growing
out of the sale of stock in an oil
company, are quashed and the de-
PENDANT discharged. Attorneys fol
Budlong attacked the indictments on
the following grounds:
That the defendant was not in
dicted by a legally impaneled grand
jury and that the grand jury which
indicted him was not selected and
summoned according to the require
ments Of the statute of this state, in
| this:
That the judges of election of the
several precincts of Tama county
which returned the list of grand
jurors from which the grand jury
was drawn which returned this in
dictment failed to return said list of
names as provided by law and in vi
olation of section 337A., of the sup
pement to the code of Iowa.
That the judges of election for the
year in which the list of names of
grand jurors was returned and from
which list the grand jury was drawn
which returned this indictment failed
and neglected to certify to the re-
turn of said hist filed with the
county auditor in two precincts,
namely, Otter Creek and the Third
ward in the city of Toledo, and no
legal list of names from these two
precincts was returned by the cleo
ton board of said precinct as pro-
vided by law, and no list of grand
jurors was returned at all by the
Judges of election for the Third ward
voting precinct of Toledo, and such
omission was intentional on the part
of said judges of election and the
board of supervisors of Tama county
did not make such list for said de-
linqueut townships as provided by
section 337A. of the supplement of
the code of Iowa.
That in making up the grand jury
list for the year 1920 there were ex-
GUIDED from said list by the judges
of election in all voting precincts
except that of Indian Village town
ship, the names of women who
voted at said election, and no wom-
ems name was returned on the grand
jury list from any precinct except
that of Indian Village township
which exclusion was an intentional
act of said judges of election in the
several precincts wherein said names
were not returned, and by reason
thereof great many persons were
excluded from said dist so returned
and from the list of grand Jurors be-
cause of their sex, who were COM
petent to serve on said grand jury
| and who had the right to serve and
| whose names this defendant had
right to have returned by said cleo,
ton judges, which act of exclusion
| and discrimination by said judges OF
election of the said several voine
precincts was in violation of the
laws of the state of Iowa.
That the grand jury which in
dicted this defendant was selected IL
violation of the constitution of the
United States and the laws of the
United States and of the state OF
-Iowa, because thru the unlawful eX
clusion from the grand jury list Of
the names of women who voted a
the election for the year 1920, thu:
defendant was denied by the officers
charged with the selection OF salt
list and with the section of the
grand jury from said list, of tha
equal protection which has been Sc
cured to him by the constitution ant
the laws of the United States.
Judge Willett sustained the motor
in the following order:
'The motion of defendant e
ouash the indictment against him II
| this cause and to set the same aside
and discharge the defendant Is sus
tanned by the court on each groun(
thereof. The indictment herein a
amended is hereby held and adJudge'
TO be illegal and void, and same Il
hereby set aside and held for naught
The defendant, A. E. Budlong' Il
discharged, his bond exonerated ant
sureties released. Done by TIT
court"
| -O