The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-02-19
Knight Can't
Give Answer
Continued from Page u

clal designation was given to Me-
groes' names. Pointing to the red
books containing the jury rolls. on
which the defense contends that
the names of six Negroes were
forged, Knight said:
Il cannot tell you today that
those names were or were not
forged I simply take the posi-
ton that I don't know how. when
or whether, and consider it i'm.
material whether they were or were
not placed there"
Knight Can't Answer
Justice Willis Van Devanter Of
Wyoming, seemingly irked at
Knights striking failure to even
approach the defenses main issue,
called the attention of the shouting
/ prosecutor to the fact that out Of
the box" containing the names Of
qualified voters mo colored mans
name ever came" and that no
colored man ever was called" Then
the justice asked Knight, What is
your answer to that?"
Il understand that the Jury
Commission has the discretion"
Knight began.
1T has not the right to exclude
colored men" the Justice shot in.
Il don't contend that it has, said
Knight.
But the colored men didn't get
on" Van Deyanter complained.
Instead Of answering, Knight re-
torted that it was for the Supreme
Court to decide whether the evil
dence warrants ''the presumption
that the Jury. Commission did what
they said they did
Hundreds Wait To Hear
The Court, according to its GUS
tom, set no definite time for rem
dering its decision on the appeals.
Osmond K. FraenkeI, the other
lawyer retained by the I. L. D., sat
beside Pollak, ready to offer rebuff
tai argument. Attorney Samuel S.
Leibowitz, who presented the facts
for the defense last Friday, was not
present today.
The session opened with hundreds
of Negro and white persons waiting
outside to hear the case. Many Of
them waited in vain
Four Main Points
The four main points, hammered
by Pollak with the calm of his ju-
dicial listeners perched high on the
bench above him, were:
/. That the Indictment of a
member of the Negro race and his
conviction by juries from which
Negroes are Systematically exc
cluded is denial of the equal
protection of the law.
2. That the court lin Alabama)
denied the boys constitutional
rights in refusing to quash the in-
dictments by the grand juries in
Jackson County where Negroes
had for years been excluded from
jury service.
3. That the court denied the
boys constitutional rights in re-
fusing to quash the venire of the
petit jury in Morgan County
where Negroes had for years been
excluded.
| 4. That the court denied their
constitutional rights in refusing
to permit them full opportunity to
prove that Negroes were syste-
matically excluded.
Pollak cited the uncontested testi~
mony by jury commissioner,
Stewart, that the names of Negroes
on the lists from which jurymen
were drawn were followed by the
designation, "Col.p
Attorney General knight, wearing
a deep flush with his black cutaway
coat, told the court that jury COM
missioner Stewart was confused"
when he testified to that fact, and
was thinking of the voting list.
"Is that the custom there?" JUS
tice Butler asked Knight, referring
to the custom of designating Me-
groes as to color on voting lists.
tits been done ever since can
remember" Knight replied.
But that's on voting rolls, not
on jury rolls"
why didn't Mr.. Steward say SOP"
asked Chief Justice Charles Evans
Hughes.
"He said the roll did not sys-
tematically exclude Negroes" was
Knights only answer.
His only answer to the exclusion
Of qualified Negroes was, 81 can't
conceive of this court constituting
!, itself a jury commission"
The defense's plea is that the
jury commission and all other agen-
cies Of the State of Alabama con-
cerned with the case violated the
constitution-the protection Of which
: is the duty Of the Supreme Court of
. the United States.