Evening star., 1932-08-31
DUNCAN PREPARES
TO APPEAL PRISON
TERM OF 3 YEARS
Former Arlington Court Clerk
Found Guilty After Jury
Takes Three Ballots.
MOVE FOR NEW TRIAL
TO BE HEARD IN FALL
Released on $4,000 Bond Pending
Action of Court-Wife Breaks
Down at Verdict.
BY Staff Correspondent of The Star.

BY a Staff Correspondent of The Star.
ARLINGTON COUNTY COURT
HOUSE, Va, August 81 = Facing a
three-year sentence in the penitentiary,
william H. Duncan. convicted last night
of misappropriating State funds while
serving as clerk of this court, was pre-
pairing his appeal today.
The jury brought in its verdict of
guilty at 1905 o'clock last night, after
listening to testimony for seven days.
The jurors are understood to have taken
three ballots, one member having voted
for acquittal on the first two. Three
ballots also we're taken before the pen
atty of three years imprisonment was
agreed upon.
Duncan received the jurys decision
calmly, but his wife, who had been
present throughout the trial, broke
down.
Hearing Set for October.
AS soon as the verdict was brought
in Amos c. Crounse of defense counsel
moved that it be set aside. asking for
an arrest of judgment and a new trial
Judge Walter T. Mccarthy said he
would hear the motion october IT.
Duncan was released under $4,000
bond
Duncan was convicted of misappro-
priating the proceeds of State check
for S7,8l5, placed in his custody in 1881
during a land d-condemnation proceed
ing. He was directed by the court on
April 2, 1882, to place this check in a
special bank account, but, according to
the prosecution, he failed to do this
and has never accounted for the money.
He faces two other indictments-one
charging the felonious misuse of S4,450
and the other the felonious misuse OF
S66,761. These cases have been set for
trial during the october term OF court.
Jury Asks Instructions.
The Jurors twice returned to the
court room during their deliberations
for additional instructions.
In the first instance. they asked
whether the court order requiring that
the money be deposited in special
account in the First National Bank of
Alexandria had been superseded by one
of the courts instructions to the jury.
This instruction in substance was that
the law did not require Duncan to
keep the money in any particular bank
and that he should be acquitted unless
the jury believed beyond reasonable
doubt that he did not have the money
in any place.
Judge Mccarthy instructed the jurors
1t became Duncan's duty to depcsit the
money when he was directed to do so,
but that his failure to comply with the
order did not in itself constitute a mis-
appropriation CT funds. However. he
said, If the jury believed there had been
a misappropriation the fact OF the de-
fendant's failure to deposit the check as
directed and his subsequent failure to
produce the money upon demand could
be considered along with the other evil
dence in arriving at verdict.
Time Question involved.
The second time the jury asked how
much time Duncan had under the
order to make the deposit. The court
replied that he was entitled to rea-
sonable time and that the determina-
ton of what constituted a reasonable
time was a task for the jury.
The case closed abruptly yesterday
when Defense Attorneys Crounse and
Leo Harlow waived their final argu-
ments. Commemorative Attorney Law
renee Douglas had already made his
argument and Collins Denny, jr, as
sistant State attorney general, who was
to close for the prosecution, accepted
the defense offer to waive.