Weekly journal-miner., 1922-05-17
.FOUR IF FIRST FIVE SHEEP CASES
 ARE WON BY OWNERS IF NOODLES
Rafael Serabia Acquitted and R. T. Brown Dismissed on Third Day; New Informations Ex- pected to be Filed in June.
From Saturdays Daily)

Rafael Serabla, sheep raiser, ot charge that he urged his bands upon the certain specified lands of Ramon Contreras, brought the record of the sheep trespass cases to date to tour acouittals and one conviction. Gre gorio Hazas was found guilty of trespass on land that bore no testi- mony of private ownership. In all four other cases, the issue was dif- ferent in that it was alleged the land entered unlawfully by the sheep, was in fact, the possessory right of some individual, usually the complaining , witness.
 Judge Sweeney on the bench in structed County Attorney Sullivan to file new information in the Sera- bia case.
 Robert E. Morrison and Emmett T. Morrison, defense counsel for Serabia, 1eaped upon an issue sud- denly raised ill the late morning ses- sion. moved the court for a verdict in their favor, and after several hours of further argument, won the point The state, represented by County At tornev I. L. Sullivan, took the stand that the fact Ramon ContreraS had acquired a patent to the GAO acres Tn question, ought not to deprive him of the right to range cattle thereon and to do it in a manner as exclusive as the cattlemen sought.
 Mir. Morrison held that to charge man with crime under a section of the statute covering public do- main" he termed "cattle range" and then to prove by ones own witness that the land was not public, but private, was not according to the rules. This meat of the argument was expanded and ornamented by great quantities of descriptive, mar rative and contentious language m the course of the debate between MT. Sullivan and MT Morrison, that endured for the afternoon.
 Sullivan said that it was the desire of the state to conform to q hint just thrown out by the court that Il would be well to confine the acreage very carefully. Judge Sweeney ex- plained that inasmuch as his ruling would tend to classify the lands for all times as either sheep land or COW land. it would be well to know just what territory was being taken Ill The defense was most agreeable tc this mode. By all means, the dis putation should be delimited. II square measure, ii not in grammat ical sense. And it was.
 But the confinement of the issue: to the little 640-acre patch of MT Contreras, swung wide the door fol the defense motion, and MT. Nor rison quickly availed himself of tho right. of entry. Clearly, he argued, l was no way to do to charge nal under one section of the law and try him under another And when thi: point had been thoroughly treated a such. the court threw out the infor nation and Rafael was free.
 But it is not to be for long. Ih' definition of range land. as eithe cattle, sheep or joint range, remain to be made Sheep interests are con ccrned practically solely with tn achievement of this purpose. In June it was intimated by high court of ficials yesterday, new informations repaired as to the faults of the pres cnt ones, are expected to bring tn cases LID once more for trial
 The premise is expected to be con fined to the matter of priority. l the cattlemen can show they hay been using the land continuously, ex ciusively and legally all these year: they win; if it can be shown tha sheep have grazed, lambed or other wise carried on their destinies in all of the disputed areas, under certai circumstances it can then be hel that the land is no ones in particula and no offcnsc has been committc'
 Juan Browns case, continued tll 10th. was dismissed yesterday.