The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1922-08-25
Bevins Hearing Ends
And County Attorney
Is Back At His Desk

His hearing in the supreme court
ended yesterday shortly after noon.
County Attorney E. r. Bevins return.
ed home on the Manoa this morning
and was at his office at an early hour
wading into accumulations of mail and
work that had arrived during his alb.
sence. Yesterday was devoted to tbe
final arguments of Bevins' counsel and
argument in rebuttal by Deputy At
torney General Lightfoot.
According to the Associated Press
dispatches reaching Maui News on
wednesday and yesterday the argu-
ments OF counsel were in progress on
both of those days. The contention
OF Bevins counsel was that the attor.
ney generals office had not substan-
tiated its charges and that in any
event the charges would have been
ground for proceedings in impeach-
ment and not for disbarment had they
been substantiated
Bevins appears to be confident of
vindication but preferred not to talk
of the case saying that when the de-
judges it will speak for itself.
There is no intimation as to when
the decision will be rendered.
Argument Reported
Relative to the arguments OF Bevins
counsel yesterdays Star-Bulletin said
in part:
In regard to the contempt of court
incident, he said that disbarment was
considered as the proper punishment
only when the instance of contempt
was so gross, so scandalous, or un-
pardonable that the court was insult
ed deliberately by an attack on its
morals, honesty or character. Ordin-
ary cases of contempt were not con-
sidered as evidence in disbarment
cases, in his mind and he cited de-
cisions of various courts in the mat
ter.
Turning to the Boteilho case. he
said the testimony showed that Bev-
ins had satisfied himself that criminal
action should not be taken, and that
there was no intention on the part of
Brown to deceive Boteilho. He read
extracts from the deeds and said that
the Browns interest in the land had
been conveyed to Boteilho, who, hav-
ing lived in that district and having
known the Brown family all his life.
could not have been so simple and
ignorant as to believe that he was
given all the land instead of the 7/10I
interest that had belonged to the chill
dren of Browns second wife.
Smith declared that there had been
no case of criminal fraud and en-
phasized that every case of false pre-
tences is not a case of gross cheat or
criminal fraud. He read at length de
finitions from the law covering fraud
and cheat, and cited the examples con.
tanned in the law and in decisions
handed down by the courts. To his
mind, he argued, there was no ques-
tion that there was a case of gross
cheat under the common law.
Proceedings Wrongly Brought
"As to the nature of disbarment
he contended that a man
cannot be removed from his office
much less prevented from practising
as an attorney, for using poor discre-
tion in the performance of his duties,
unless his actions showed that he was
guilty of abuse, corruption or gross
negligence of his duties and read the
decision of a court to that effect
''In concluding his argument, he
said he wished" to emphasize the
fact that all the acts alleged to have
been committed by his client are con-
cerned with his official conduct as
attorney, which alleged viola
tions of duties are punishable by law
by impeachment and not by disbar-
ment'