Evening star., 1926-05-18
RUDOLPH ADMITS ''MISTAKE''
ABOUT HARDWARE CONTRACTS
Says He Knows Nothing About Commissioners Busi-
ness in This Representatives. Says Patient
Stayed i'm Cold Pack 5 Hours Continuously.

! Commission. Mr. Blanton emphasized
that this is the same man VINO APP
peared before the auditor of the Su-
! preme Court. endeavoring to get fees
| for Mr.. Fenning which the auditor
| said should not be allowed.
Justice Hoehling Called.
Justice A. II. Hoehling was called as
| a witness by Mr.. Gilbert, who pref
| aced his questioning with the state
ment that it has fallen to my un-
| pleasant lot to conduct this phase
: of the examination. There has been
| complaint that certain abuses exist IN
| the Judiciary here. 1t is along that
| line that | wish to elicit the facts.
| would not ask these questions, but
| the complaint has come from very
high an unimpeachable source He
then referred to the report OF the Bar
Association of the District, which was
adopted with only two dissenting
votes. Mr.. Gilbert acknowledged that
he had previously stated that his in
vestigations had convinced him that
the court had an arbitrary attitude
and had been guilty of favoritism. He
said that there was nothing he knew
of that reflected on the integrity Of the
judiciary and that no corruption had
Dtetl SuONIl, Dul lnttl " MS Illlilu
there was conclusive proof that the
court had not been as jealous as he
believed it should be of the liberty of
citizens and their property.
Mr.. Gilbert questioned Justice
Hoehling at length on the Brosnan
case and concerning the limits to
which the court can go in sending
persons to Jail for contempt.
He got from Justice Hoehing an
admission that looking at this case
retrospectively it would have been
better to have brought the prisoner
into court for full accounting after
one week in jail instead of after
three months. Justice Hoehling said,
Il think II would have been better
| am frank to say" Justice Hoeh-
ling again explained that in this case
it was a close family affair between
sisters and brothers, and he thought
that under the circumstances he was
acting in the best interests of the
estate.
Position Of Judiciary.
Justice Hoehling agreed with Mr..
Gilbert that there should be limit
for contempt. Mr. Gilbert then asked
Justice Hoehlng for his ideas in re-
gard TO the judiciary. questioning
him whether it was his belief that
the Federal judiciary, as contem-
plated by the trainers Of the Consti-
tuition, should he entirely free. lie
suggested that they should have
life term and sufficient pay and that
they should not be employed in any
capacity by men who practice before
their court. In this connection, JUS
tice Hoehling's position as lecturer
in law subjects at the Georgetown
University Law School came up for
discussion. George r. Hamilton, un-
til recently president of the Capital
Traction Co, and who appeared be-
fore Justice Hoehling as attorney
for the Capital Traction Co, is dean
of the Georgetown University Law
School
Mr. Gilbert argued that the judi
ciarv should have no such entangle-
ments, and Justice Hoehling agreed.
He said that his association with that
school dated back TO 10 years ago and
| that when he went on the bench he
| had disposed of all of his local hold
ings. He agreed that a judge should
not lecture at a law school and said
| that he had delivered his last lecture
| at the school.
| Chairman Gibson made Il personal
observation that he was sorry to hear
Justice Hoehling make that decision
as he believed that such work kept
| judges up to date in regard to Ques-
| tionS of evidence and such matters
which would better fit them for their
duties in court, and he believed it to
! be a distinct loss to young men and
women to be deprived of lectures by
| such an experienced and we'll equip
| ped authority. Representative Bow
man of West Virginia and Mr.. Gilbert
| concurred in this statement by Mr..
| Gibson. Mr.. Blanton said he hoped
| that Justice Hoehling would recon
slider his decision about not lecturinG
any more in the law school, but that
he should be very careful not to sit
again in a case in which the dean of
the law school was interested.
Asks About Loans.
| Mr.. Blanton asked if it was ethical
for justice of the Supreme Court to
| borrow a large sum of money from a
corporation that has litigation before
| his court, In which case he sits as a
| Judge. He said this did not refer at all
| to Justice Hoehling, but that another
justice has borrowed 81 500 from the
MunseY Trust Co. and that this
| doesn't look good to the legal fra
ternity or to the public.
Mr.. Gibson questioned Justice
Hoehling regarding proposed estab-
lishment Of a probate court, and the
justice stated that new division of
probate in the Supreme Court is de-
sirable to take care Of estates of de-
ceased persons, lunacy cases and d.
vorce cases.
Wilton J. Lambert, who was pres
ent to substantiate some of the
statements made by Justice Hoehlng,
was not called as a witness because
Mr.. Gilbert desires to prepare himself
to examine and crosS-eXamine Mr..
Lambert and was not ready to do it
last night. Mr.. Lambert placed him
self at the disposal Of the committee
when it desires his testimony.
Justice Mccoy was questioned rath
err sharply by Mr.. Gilbert regarding
the Helen Norris case. in which JUS
tice Mccoy had signed an order based
on petition for appointment of re-
ceiver. Mr.. Gilbert claimed that the
woman had never been served with a
notice, that there had been no hear
ing, that she had never been declared
Of unsound mind, and he produced
the papers in the case, which Justice
Mccoy identified, including his own
signature. Mr. Gilbert's contention
was that the proceedings in this case
show that a person could have his
property taken away from him with
out having had any opportunity for
a hearing. He showed that the same
court had later held that this woman
did not need any receiver but that
| she had been put to considerable
| trouble and expense, and that the re-
ceiver and his attorney had both been
paid fees out Of her estate. Justice
| McCoy's defense was that he acted on
| affidavits signed by two physicians de-
| cAring this woman to be of unsound
mind, and to protect her estate be-
cause power of attorney had been