The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-04-29
SUPREME COURl
TO GET APPEAL
OF RUTHENBERG
Bridgeman Case Comes
Up This Week
Especial to The Daily WOrker)

WASHINGTON, May 27-The SUI
preme court Of the United States will
have placed before it the question OF
whether there can be such a crime as
assembling with" when It hears the
argument on the appeal Of G. {. Ruth
enberg, general secretary of the Work
ers (commuhist) Party against the
the conviction on the charge Of "as-
sembIing with" the Communist Party
of America at Bridgeman in 1922.
The case which now comes before
the supreme court grew out of the
famous Bridgeman raid when Is mem
bers of the Communist Party were ar
rested. Later, other members who
were delegates to the convention
either were arrested or surrendered
themselves, making the total number
of defendants involved over 81, all OF
WHOM are now held on bail by the Ber-
rien county court.
All of the defendants were original
" held on the charge of advocating
the doctrine of criminal syndicalism
and of being members of an organiza-
ton which taught the doctrine OF Grim
inal syndicalism, but these counts IN
the information against them were
stricken out by the judge who heard
the case and only the one charge OF
assembling with" an organization
which taught the doctrine of criminal
syndicalism was left against them.
The brief in support of Ruthenberg's
appeal before the United States SUI
preme court has the Following to say
on the question of "crime of assem-
bling: 1.-THE crime of assembling is
an absolute novelty in American Grim
inal law This is the only case OF
record in all law books, so far as we
have been able to ascertain, in which
the judgment depends solely on al
charge of assembling with society
devoted to the propagation of GER
tain from of doctrine. In no other
instance in American Jurisprudence
has it been held within the due process
of law to punish as a felony the mere
act of assembling with an organiza-
ton. The startling novelty of this
case of itself suggests a departure
from established standards of culp-
ability.
1.-THE supreme court of Michigan did
not see fit to assimilate the crime OF
assembling, as denounced by the
criminal syndicalism act, with com
mon law crime of unlawful assembly.
Indeed, it was strenously urged upon
the Michigan court that it must have
been the legislative intent to make the
crime assembling consist of action
in aid of present public advocacy OF
criminal syndicalism, as where sew
eral persons jointly arrange and man.
age a meeting or demonstration, and
one or more of them proclaims the
forbidden doctrine. But this conten-
tion was utterly rejected, with the re-
suit that the crime Of assembling
makes its first appearance in this
court divorced from any requirement
of actual advocacy of the prohibited
doctrine as an element of the crime"
Ruthenberg will be represented in
the hearing before the supreme court
by Isaac e. Ferguson who prepared
the brief in the case. For the state of
Michigan there will appear o. l..
Smith, the assistant states attorney,
and George II. Bookwalter, now the
prosecuting attorney of Berrien coun-
~, where the case was tried. The
argument will take place either Wed.
nesday or Thursday.