The Washington times., 1931-05-08
RESTRICTIONS
ONSHOOT|NG
PROPOSED
Right to Use Gun Limited to
Definite Cases in Report
Made at Institute Session

Drastic restriction of the right
Of officers of the law to kill in
effecting an arrest or preventing
an escape. was proposed before
the American Law Institute today
In a draft act for administration
Of the criminal law Prohibition
Is not mentioned in the act, but
such killings would be barred
The institute is holding its
ninth annual meeting and is con.
sidering drafts of proposed i'm.
provements in judicial procedure
covering practically the entire
rangC of the law.
Problems Are Studied
The country's leading jurists to-
day considered the question OF
summoning witnesses in criminal
cases to appear in another State
from that in which they live, the
killing or wounding to effect ar.
rest, and whether a judge or
counsel should have the right to
comment on the fact a defendant
did not testify in his own defense
at his trial.
This afternoon the delegates
and their wives will be received
at the White House by President
and Mrs. Hoover.
The tentative draft of the act
to restrict the right of officers to
kill, and to deprive private
citizens of such a right under all
circumstances. was reported on by
william E. Mikell and Edwin r.
Keedy. of the University Of Penn
sylvania Law School.
Advisers Are Named
Their advisers were Judge F. F.
Faville, of the Iowa Supreme
Court; Robert w. Millar, of the
Northwestern University Law
School; Justin Miller Of Duke
University; Judge Charles C. Mott,
jr., of the General Sessions Court
of New York; r. M. Perkins, OF
Iowa State College of Law; T. N.
Pfeiffer, of New York; Floyd E.
Thompson, of Chicago; John b.
Waite, University of Michigan, and
Tyrrell williams. of Washington
University Law School. st. Louis.
The proposed draft would limit
the right to kill to law officer
in cases where the arrest is law
full: where there is reasonable be-
lief that the arrest or escape an
not be otherwise prevented; where
the person to be arrested is
aware that he is to be arrested;
where the offense is treason, muir
der. voluntary manslaughter, may
hem, arson, robbery. criminal at
tack. kidnapping, burglary, or
where there is an attempt to
murder, criminally attack or rob.
It also provides that the PEI
son killed or wounded is the one
named in the officers warrant, or
where there is no warrant, there
Is reason to believe he is the
man wanted.
MikelI DiSSentS
Mikell dissented from the draft
as presented, holding that che
right to kill should be limited to
capital offenses. Waite. on the
other hand. urged that the right
to kill be extended to all offenses.
The proposal depriving private
citizens of the right to kill under
all circumstances, received the ap-
prOval of all but three of the ad-
visOrs. Thompson, Waite and
Millar.
They held the private citizen
should have the right to kill un-
der certain circumstances, such
as where the arrest would be
lawful, where the arrest cannot
be otherwise effected or The es-
cape prevented, where the man
to be arrested is aware he is
wanted. and where the offense
is among those defined for law
officers. Also, the right to kill
would extend to cases where the
offense was committed in the
presence of a private citizen.