Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-31
1918 Cases Listed on Law
Calendar and GA on
Equity Side.
THREE JUSTICES TO HEAR
TRIALS IN CRIME DIVISION
Conspiracy Charge Against Albert
B. Fall Among Those Await
ing Disposition.

When the District Supreme Court
convenes october z for the Fall term II
Will face the largest docket of cases
ready for trial in its history. On the
law calendar are 1913 cases listed. all
OF which were at issue and ready for
trial up to August l. No cases filed
after that date will be on the calendar
Tor trial during the coming court year.
On the Equity side 624 cases are ready
to be heard. A limitation as of Au-
gust l was also established for EQUITY
cases.
While United States Attorney Leo A.
Rover has Sal criminal cases on his
docket, only 45S of them are in condi-
ton to be tried. Defendants are fupi-
tives in SO cases who have never been
apprehended and five are serving terms
OF imprisonment in other jurisdictions.
Pending motions in 10 other cases pre-
vent their early trial
Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat has
announced that three justices will be
assigned to hear criminal cases and
much Roadway is expected to be made
in the disposition of the coneested
criminal docket. AS there are a num-
per of condemnation cases pending.
both Federal and District, it ia not un-
likely that two justices may be needed
to clear up these cases. This will leave
only two justices in each Of the EQUITY
and Circuit divisions to cope with the
overburdened dockets in those courts
with small chance of expediting hear
ings of such cases.
Fail Case Pending.
Included in the cases pending for
TRIAL in the Criminal Courts is on
charging conspiracy against Albert B.
Fall, former Secretary of the Interior,
who was named in an indictment with
Harry F. Sinclair, New York oil mag
nate, on which Sinclair was tried and
acquitted. The special oil counsel have
never asked the dismissal of the in
dictment as to Fall The former Cabi-
net officer was convicted of bribery in
connection with the acceptance of
100000 from Edward F.. Doheny, the
Los Angeles oil man, and is appealing
his conviction and sentence of one
year in jail and fine of 100000.
total Of IS prohibition cases is sched-
uled for trial and also 13 homicide
charges In of which the accused are
in jail. Nine violations of the anti
narcotics Jaw are on the calendar for
trial.
Should the work of three justices
make ~the expected inroads into the
criminal congestion, u S. Attorney
Rover win ask that one of the justices
take up the SO paddock cases pending
on the Equity dockets.
The congestion in the courts seems
to center in the civil cases. On the
law side among the 1918 cases marked
ready for jury trials is one nine years
old, having been filed August Is, 1921,
and involves a suit on a bond. About
&C cases are still carried on the calen-
dar for damages growing out Of the
Knickerbocker Theater disaster, which
occurred January %, 1922. On the list
are 227 cases which have been awaiting
trial since August 81, 1923, and 4S7
ending August 81, 1929. From that
last date until August l, 1880, total
of 500 cases were made ready to be
submitted to the court.
$50 Trials Last Year.
Last year the two circuit courts held
$50 trials and if no better progress is
made in the coming court year some OF
the cases now scheduled will not be
reached for from eight to ten years.
The cases ready for trial represent a
little more than one-half of the total of
law cases pending at the end of the
fiscal year 1880, which was reported
as 2,163.
The equity cases scheduled for trial
during the next court year total 624.
which is less than one-third of the
total number of such cases pending
June 80, last, on which date 2.141 cases
were on the court docket. The most
ancient case pending in equity was filed
october l., 1924, and five other cases
date back of January, 1923. During
that year II cases were added to the
trial calendar; 319 were added in 1929
and for the first seven months of 1880
another 229 cases were made ready for
trial
Last year there were heard 3l5 equity
cases and at the same rate the last case
on the present call may be reached In
1882
With nine justices at work-an in
crease of SO per cent over the pre-
vious years-it is confidently expected
that much Roadway will be made in the
effort to put an end to the court con-
gestion.