Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-30
DEARTH CONFESSES
IRREGULAR JUR|ES
Says He Allowed Those Who
Paid No Taxes to Serve,
But Defends Action.
By the Associated Press.
we

By the Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS, lid, March 80.
During q heavy fire Of cross
examination, Judge Clarence w.
Dearth of the Delaware Circuit court
yesterday admitted before the State
Senate trying him on impeachment
charges that he had permitted persons
to serve on juries when he knew
they were not listed on the tax du-
plicates. He was still on the stand
when recess was taken until today.
Prior to that Dearth had made a
general denial Of all charges brought
by the board Of managers of the
House Of Representatives that he had
permitted the improper impaneling
of turies or that he had given his
jury commissioners lists Of prospects
talesmen that he had taken from
telephone directory.
Defends His Action.
Defending his action in permitting
persons to serve on juries despite the
fact they were not qualified under
the law, the defendant declared:
There is not a court In Indiana
which follows that rulestrictly or can
follow 1t. If the attorneys in the case
did not object, I would not. Some
times the attorneys wanted them on.
That was the attorneys business.
Any time they objected to such a
juror I sustained the objection"
Judge Dearth became bitter when
reference was made on direct ex-
animation to alleged attacks on him
by George r. Dale, Munice editor.
r Aka rrf
paper on February 10. 1927, that
brought the present case to the
attention Of the Indiana Legislature.
He exclaimed that there came a time
when he could not stand Dale's al
legged slanderous attacks on him.
at felt at one time like going out
and doing something to him." he said.
Claim He Acted Within Rights.
That Judge Dearth acted within
his rights in confiscating copies OF
the Munic Post Democrat and In
causing the arrest Of between 30 and
40 newsboys without warrents was
contended by the defense attorneys.
The assertion, arising over an OBJ
lection by the state to the presen-
tation of a copy OF the newspaper OF
that date as q defense exhibit. was
that the defendant acted legally be-
cause the publication contained an
article which was "libelous per Sc"
The exhibit was admitted.
Judge Dearth on croSs-examination
denied that he knew Jacob Cava-
naugh, 6S-year-old Democratic jury
commissioner of Delaware County,
had been taking names OF persons
from a memorandum book for service
as talesmen. Cavanaugh testified
earlier in the trial that he had shown
the book to the Judge and that he
Dearth) had known for more than
a year that the tax duplicates were
not being used.
Dearth admitted, however, Cava-
naugh told him he had a book con-
tanning 'the names of lots Of people,"
Does Not Remember.
Representative Ralph McKesson Of
the prosecution led Judge Dearth
through one of his suits against Dale,
and which eventually reached the In
diana Supreme Court. He asked if
1t was not true that attorneys for
Dale had sought the dismissal of the
entire jury panel on the ground that
the men and women had not been
selected legally.
Before the defendant could answer,
McKesson presented q document
signed by Judge Dearth in which the
objections were overruled. Asked II
he had signed the paper, Judge
Dearth said he could not remember.
Prior to Judge Dearth's taking the
stand, seven other defense witnesses
were called. They gave substantially
the same testimony--that they had
served on juries in Dearth's court,
but that the Jurist never had sought
to influence them. Many Of them tes-
titled they had known the defendant
many years.