Evening star., 1933-04-25
- RULING HASTENS APPEAL.
Supreme Court Action May Affect All
Southern States
,ecisI Dispatch to The Star

Special Dispatch to The Star.
BOSTON. Mass. April 25 (N.AN.A)-
BY granting a writ of habeaS corpus tt
a prisoner for whom Gov. ELY nae
already issued an extraditlcn order al
the request of the Governor OF Virginia
Judge James A. Lowell, in Federal DIS
trict Court here. has challenged in vivic
language the procedure OF the southern
State in excluding Negroes from jury
service. The prisoner was George
Crawford, accused of numbering two
women in Virginia.
What the judge did actually was te
shortcut the route Of one particular
criminal case to the Supreme Court Of
the United States. He pointed out tha'
even if the extradition to Virginia were
allowed. the case would only go to the
Supreme Court of the United States or
appeal on constitutional grounds.
Il say this whole thing is absolutely
wrong" said Judge Lowell With charac-
teristic abruptness. 1T goes against my
XRnkee common sense to nave case se
Uu trial for two or three years and then
have the whcle thing thrown out by the
Supreme Court.
They say Justice is blind. Justice
should not be as blind as a bat. but In
this case it would be if writ Of
habeas corpus were denied.
Lawyers Would Benefit.
"Whv should I send Negro bach
from Boston to Virginia when l know
and everybody knows, that the Supreme
Court will say that the trial Is illegal:
The. only persons who would get any
good out of it would be the lawyers.
: I'D rather be wrong on my law thar
give any sanction to legal nonsense.
!: Assistant Attorney General Stepher
ID Bacigalupo. who as the representa-
tive of Gov. Ely appeared to oppose the
allowing of the writ. interrupted.
Your hcnor," he said. are we goine
to say that the State Of Virginia doe:
not uphold the laws OF the Unitee
States?"
They have not done So" retortet
Judge Lowell, when it comes to ques'
ton Of putting Negroes on juries dowr
there. l ought to say that the indict-
ment was good. but. of course, / die
not hear the evidence in this case. Tht
whole thing to me is a piece OF stag
play. The writ of habeas corpus L
allowed"
If that had been all there was to it
Crawford. the accused colored man
would be out on the streets and free
But Mr.. Bacigalupo gave immediate no
tice that he would appeal from Judg,
Lowells decision to the Circuit Cour
of Appeals 1t is understood that M
contest will be made there. but that th'
case will be certified to the Supreme
Court in order to get decision whlcf
will affect all the Southern States.
Crawford is still in the nominal Gus
tody of the State police. the papers no
being ready. AS matter OF phySlca
fact. Crawford is still in the Charlie
Street Jail here.
The brief for the petitioner-Craw
ford-raised two questions: The flrSt
claim that the exclusion OF Negroe
from grand jury or other jury duty b.
law is contrary to the express Wordlnl
of the fourteenth amendment to tn
Constitution; second. if the law be fai
on its face but be administered Will
uneven hand or with evil eye. ther
is lust as potent a denial Of the right
granted by the fourteenth amendmen:
The Governor of Virginia asked 10
his extradition and Gov. Ely ordere'
Assistant Attorney General Baclgalup
TO, investigate and report. In tn
meantime. however, the case had at
tracted attention The National Asso
citation fer the Advancement of Colore'
;pscple asked its Boston representative
butler r. Wilson, to defend Crawford
and Wilson immediately called in a
attorney j, Weston Allen, the forme
attuFney general of Massachusetts,.
kcopyraht. 1913 h. 'Ior'h = American News
~apor A. -"~ 1nc)