Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-02-13
JUDCEORDERS
]. P. FEE Mill
INQUlRYHERE
Criminals Licensed In
County Under Pres
ent Plan, Cunning
ham Tells Jury

Asserting there has been built up
in Cameron county "a custom among
justices of the peace that is, TO my
mind, nothing more nor less than the
licensing for q small sum the COM
mission of felonies in a general
way" Judge A. w. Cunningham of
the criminal district court Monday
morning charged the grand jury to
and to return indictments where suf-
ficient evidence can be found.
Criminal district court convened
at $3.50 and the grand jury was i'm
mediately called and impaneied.
In his charge TO the jury Judge Cum
ningham urged a thorough irvestiga-
tion of all official reports Of the
county, and then called the attention
Of the jury to what he termed "li-
censing crime"
Charges Fee Mill
There has been built up in this
county a custom among the justices
Of the peace and constables, and in
some cases, by city recorders, that is
10 my mind nothing more or less
than the licensing for a small sum
the committing of felonies in a gen.
eral way" Judge Hutcheson said.
Il refer to the habit of catching
booze runners with from one to ten
and fifteen gallons of smuggled
liquor and hauling them before a
justice of the peace or city recorder
and filming them s5 or SIS or 500 and
turning him loose and giving his car
back To him.
THAT is licensing crime. But that
thing has been going on persistently
IN this county and getting worse and
worse until the ultimate result of it
IS making fee mills and grinding out
fees through the justice courts and
licensing men to commit crime, TO
commit felonies.
Wants Thorough Probe
1T is not so much the gravity Of
the practice that men are licensed in
general way to commit crime. II
is the class of crime that is being IL
censed and the general effect that
it has on public sentiment and public
feeling, and the tendency to break
down moral fiber among the citizens.
II does not take any statement to you
TO convince you that the class Of men
who are engaged in booze-running on
his border are potential murderers.
The number OF men they have mur-
dered up and down this border is an
earnest o. the character of men en-
gagged in that class of traffic.
1T is your duty to bring before
you the different justices of the
peace and constables OF this county
who have been practicjng that sort
Of thing and read the riot act to
them, and, If there has been wilfull
violation of the law on their part, to
indict them.
Plenty of Good Men
Il have never by word of mouth,
or otherwise, 10 any person, suggest
ed to any officer where the prose
cutting authorities had an absolute
case Of felony against man to put
him through the justice court and
release him on a fine. The man who
hired Billings killed was released
from this jail Just exactly in that
way. II is not a proper way to
handle business. There is not any
man in this county that has authority
to pardon . man for committing fell
onies, and certainly justices Of the
peace and constables have not.
Il have been told that some
constables have run these cases
through the justice courts in order
to get their fees, on the ground that
the law did not give the constables a
sufficient compensation In handling
examining trials to justify filing a
felony charge. That may be true;
Continued on page two.)