Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-27
HARDY ACQUITTED,
MAYRESUME BENCH
California Senate Declines to
Impeach Judge Tried in
Mcpherson Case.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
SACRAMENTO. Calf. April 81
Acquitted of charges of official miscon-
duct by advising and aiding Mrs. AHnee
Semple Mcpherson, Superior Judge
Carries S. Hardy today was free to re-
turn to his bench in Los Angeles.
Whether the last of the Mcpherson kid
mapping story has been heard, remained
unknown. however.
Judge Hardy was voted innocent on
four charges by the State Senate in its
final sitting as a court of impeachment
yesterday.
The charges which the Senate refused
to sustain were that Judge Hardy vio-
lated the State Constitution in accept
ing $4,000 love gift" from the
Evangelist: that he illegally acted as
her counsel in advising her on church
affairs and while her kidnapping story
was under investigation: that he at
tempted to prevent Mrs. Mcpherson
from being brought to trial for alleged
conspiracy. and that he attempted to
obstruct justice by trying to intimidate
q potential witness against her.
On none of the counts did majority
Of the Senators vote to convict. A two
thirds majority is required to return a
conviction.
Cites kidnapping" Case.
Assemblymen Walter Little and w M
Hornblower. two of the five members of
the lower House who prosecuted Judge
Hardy, declared after the verdict that
District Attorney Buron Fits of Los
Angeles County should reinvestigate the
"kldnaping hoax" A representative of
Fits Office was here during the trial
and announcement was made that Fits
would study the evidence in the i'm
parchment trial relating to the truth
or falsity of the kidnapping story. In
Los Angeles Fits declared he would not
comment until transcript of the i'm
parchment case had been received.
Judge Hardy declared the verdict was
'just" and that his trial had been a
fair one. In a statement issued last
night, he said
Il rejoice that after full, fair and
just trial by the Senate sitting as a
court of impeachment, I have been
acquitted"
Mrs. Mcpherson Flags Assembly.
Mrs. Mcpherson issued statement
naying the prosecuting ASSemblymen
and declaring lone would be led TO be-
lieve that was on trial rather than
Judge Hardy"
Events leading up to the impeachment
of Judge Hardy date back to the Spring
of 1926, when Mrs. Mcpherson dis
appeared while bathing at Ocean Beach,
Calf, and reappeared few weeks later
ut Douglas. AriZ.. with the story that
she had been kidnapped and held in
Mexico, but had escaped.
The Los Angeles district attorneys
Office investigated her story after she
had appeared before the grand jury
there. A district attorneys Information
charging her and her mother. Mrs
Minnie E. Kennedy, with conspiracy to
obstruct justice was filed after the
prosecutors office had gathered uncon-
firmed evidence indicating that instead
of being kidnapped, the evangelist had
gone to Carmel, Calf, an artist colony,
with Kenneth G. OrmiSton, her radio
operator. The conspiracy charge was
dropped, however.
Ousted From Bar Association.
Last Fall Mrs. Kennedy. who had left
an official post at AngeluS Temple, her
daughters church, after a disagreement
with Mrs. Mcpherson, revealed that
$500 had been given to Judge Hardy.
who was presiding over the Criminal
Courts of Los Angeles. The mother hint
ed. too. that her daughters kidnapping
story was not true
The American Bar Association ouSted
Judge Hardy from membership because
of the $4,000 incident. Both Mrs Nc
PherSon and Judge Hardy admitted the
transaction but declared it had been a
love offering and had no legal con-
nection with the evangelists legal
trouble.
The prosecution In the impeachment
trial introduced testimony by Mrs. Ken
nedy indicating that the check had
been given for legal services.
Judge Hardy categorically denied the
accusations against him. The jurist ad-
mitted, however. in an imprisoned plea
70 the Impeachment court that he had
made mistakes" He declared his eff
forts in behalf of Mrs. Mcpherson had
been made only for the sake Of friend
ship.