Evening star., 1936-10-08
PANEL ATTACKED
IN POLICE COURT
CASE AS ILLEGAL
Three New Warrants Issued
for Morgan Glaze, Death
Car Driver.
ATTORNEYS ACTION
FOLLOWS DISMISSAL
0'Connell Takes Exception When
0verruled in Directing to "Only
18 Jurors Present"


Is Jurors Present.
A sweeping attack on the legality
of the present Police Court jury panel
and the issuance Of three new war
rants for the arrest Of Morgan Glaze,
27-year-old colored driver of an auto
mobile that killed Mrs. Mary Hausen-
fiuck, today followed the dismissal and
rebuke by Judge Edward M. Curran
of the jurors, who yesterday found
Glaze not guilty of negligent homi-
eide.
The new warrants, on which Glaze
can be tried despite his acquittal on
the original charge, accuse him OF
failing to notify the Traffic Depart
ment of q change of address, for driv-
ing without a permit and with hav-
ing defective brakes.
The attack on the legality Of the
Jury panel as result Of the dismissal
of the IL members was made by At
torney T. Edward O'Connell, who
claimed his client, Hugh M. Alex
ander, on trial today for reckless
driving, could not now receive fair
and impartial trial.
Jury Held to Be Legal.
Judge Curran overruled the objec-
ton and held the jury to be legal.
Should the Court of Appeals sustain
O'Connell, however, any convictions
by the jury would be invalidated.
O'Connell based his challenge on the
fact that IL new members had been
summoned from the reserve list to
replace the IL discharged by Judge
Curran after they returned a verdict
Of not guilty against Glaze.
Mrs. Hausenfiuck, 79-year-old widow
of the Rev. John Hausenfluck, was
killed September S, 1885, at Fourteenth
and Euclid streets. The jury was out
only 10 minutes to consider evidence
introduced over Q period of two days
at the trial. Judge Curran criticized
the jury for misconduct" and then
discharged 1t.
O'Connell raised his objection to
the jury at the beginning Of the trial
Of Alexander, %, Of $500 Fourteenth
street. who was charged with reckless
driving. His first, objection was to the
procedure in the court when he found
II men and women already seated in
the jury box.
II want to object to this Jury and say
ia this court that this Is the first time
that have ever entered court room
to represent . defendant and found a
jury already seated In the box waiting
to try my case" he said. 1T looks to
me like there Is a stacked deck against
me-"
New "Shuffle" Requested.
Judge Curran ordered the jury from
the box and then told Charles Driscoll,
clerk, to "shufie the deck. He then
asked O'Connell, do you want to cut
the cards?"
o'Connen then objected to this "fa-
cetiousness."
Before the clerk began calling the
names Of the new jurors. O'Connell
again got to his feet to object to ''the
entire array of jurors on the ground
that it is illegally constituted; that
with this jury here, in light of what
has happened here, and the fact that
your honor is here, do not believe
that my client can receive fair and
impartial trial"
Judge Curran overruled the objec-
tions one by one and then O'Connell
challenged the legality of the jury on
the ground that only Is members OF
the panel were in the room from
which to select "12 good men and
true" This objection also was over
ruled by the court. O'Connell asking
for an exception in each case.
Some Of the attorneys in the court
room called attention to decision by
Justice Stafford in the United States
District Court in 1928 in which he held
that where member or members OF a
Jury panel were discharged for miscon-
duct or incompetency the entire array
became illegal, since such an action
would tend to intimidate the remain
ing members and be prejudicial to the
defendant.
"It is not my custom to criticize any
verdict given by jury in this court, )"
Judge Curran told the jurors, as he
discharged them in the Glaze case.
"However, do not understand how you
arrived at your verdict, whether 1t was
because it is your first case or whether
1t is an honest difference Of opinion on
the evidence in the case.
1T cannot agree with the verdict
reached, and out Of service to the COM
munity at large this jury is discharged
from further service in this court"
The case had been postponed five
times and there had been one mis-
trial before the not-guilty verdict.
Judge Extends Criticism.
Later, in his chambers, Judge Cur
ran extended his criticism to declare
that If o jury could not convict on evi-
dence such as was presented in Glaze's
case the negligent homicide act "is
not worth the paper it is written on"
Assistant United States Attorney
Louis Whitestone, prosecuting the
case. was prevented by rules on evi-
dence from introducing the fact Glaze
has been arrested 80 times since 1926.
Charges included at least two for
speeding, one for reckless driving and
two for leaving after colliding, accord
ing to police records. Glaze was SEN
fenced to 80 days in jail on the reck-
less driving charge and was fined on
the hit-and-run counts.
The prosecution also was pre-
vented from bringing out that Glaze
was charged by police with driving on
4 revoked permit when his car struck
and fatally injured Mrs. Hausennuck.
According to information furnished
the district attorneys ofIice, Glaze
drove to the left Of the safety zone in
which Mrs. Hausenfluck was or had
been standing. Defense counsel con-
tended the victim stepped into the
path Of Glaze's car. I. also was argued
that Glaze had been forced to drive