Evening star., 1939-10-23
Justice Let's
Gives Testimony
In Jordon Case
Denies AUTHORIZING
Taking District Code
Into Jury Room

Inc unusual SlSnJ was presented
today in District Court of a trial
justice in f1rst-degree murder case
being summoned to the witness stand
to testify in connection with the
efforts of the convicted murderer to
obtain his release on the ground
that constitutional rights were
violated.
Justice F. Dickinson Let's told
Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat, who
is hearing the habeas corpus case of
Thomas Jordon, that he was quite
sure I did not authorize the taking
of District Code or other law book
into the jury room, when the case
was on trial in the spring of 1896.
Jordon allegedly figured in the
Garden-T -Shoppe Staying on April
81, 1881, at Eighteenth street and
Columbia road NV, when the
cashier, Mrs Lizzie Jaynes, was slain.
Former Deputy United States
Marshal John B. Upperman, now
confined at Occoquan. Va, as an
outgrowth of jury fixing in the War;
ring numbers trial-whom the de-
fense says took the District Code
into the jury room and practically
! charged the jury"-is expected to
testify this afternoon.
Representative Is Called.
A feature of the habeas corpus
proceeding, which started on Friday,
came today when Representative
Rotoc Dop,,h1cop of N6occo chucofts
who was a member of subcommit-
tee of the House District Committee
that investigated the Jordon case,
was called to the witness stand
Assistant United States Attorney
John j. Wilson, who with Assistant
United States Attorney Allen j.
Krouse is representing the Govern
ment. objected to testimony de-
signed to show the purpose for
which the subcommittee was called
and Chief Justice Wheat sustained
the objection.
Defense Attorney James J. Laugh
lin handed Mr.. Bates an official re-
port of the hearing before his SUBJ
committee, but the lawmaker said he
had never seen the transcript of the
testimony. Mr.. Wilson objected to
Mr. Laughlins questioning of Mr..
Bates regarding whether the sub
committee had made a report and
this was sustained by the chief JUS
tice. Later, Chief Justice Wheat
also sustained an objection by Mr.
Wilson regarding question of what
the subcommittee had done after its
report had been rendered.
Former Juror Testifies.
Most of the morning session was
taken up by testimony of Israel r.
Good, 1856 Nichols avenue Sc,
printing machinery salesman, who
was juror when the Jordon case
was tried in the spring Of 1886. He
recalled the day the case was fin
ished.
Il was pleading all day to 60 back
to court to be reinstructed." said
Mr. Good, explaining that he wanted
the instructions that Justice Let's
had read to the jury refreshed for
their memory. Mr.. Good said that
Arthur C. Harman was foreman of
the jury and that the deputy mar
shall had returned from the court
and said that the jury could not
have the instructions. A Mr.. Good
win, one of the jurors, according
to Mr.. Good, had asked for a COPY
of the District Code, after a ma
jority of the jury had contended
that death was the penalty in a
robbery case, but the witness said
that he had asked for the instruc-
tions to prove that only three YER
diets could be brought in-first and
second degree murder and not guilty
The foreman repeated the request
concerning the District Code to Up
perman, who replied that the jury
could have that. Mr.. Good said the
deputy marshal was never in the
jury room.
Later, Mr.. Good said, he went to
Justice Let's Office, as II felt there
was an influence in the jury that
was not aimed at justice" Mr.. Will
son objected to any further inquiry
by Mr.. Laughlin along this line.
saying that the trial was over and
the verdict rendered by that time
and that the United States Court of
Appeals had passed on that very
question to the petitioner, Jordon.
Mr., Laughlin contends that the al
legged bringing of the District Code
to the jury room was a violation of
Jordon's constitutional rights and
that he should be released now.
Cites Federal Cases.
Mr.. Wilson told the court that a
long line of Federal cases holds that
a juror cannot impeach his own
verdict. Mr. Laughlin, however, ar
gued that the Supreme Court has
held that if defendants constitu-
tional rights are violated, the trial
court loses jurisdiction of the case,
On cross s-examination, Mr.. Good
told Mr.. Wilson that the deputy did
not come into the jury room and
that no one came in. He said that
Mr.. Goodwin, after the code was
delivered to the jurors, read a para
graph relating to fire-degree mur-
DER IN connection with robbery,
Later, the witness said he saw a code
IN the corridor similar to the one
that had been in the jury room while
the jurors were on their way to eat
and that one juror went over and
read the code on a table and that
Mr.. Everett, one of the Jurors,
had stopped and looked at the code
and that Mr.. Goodwin was with
him. Mr.. Wilson, while Justice Let's
was on the witness stand, developed
that the jurist had signed a bill
OF exceptions in the Jordon case,
after the judge, who presided at the
Jordon murder trial, had said that
because he had tried many cases
in the interim, his recollection of
details was indistinct.