Evening star., 1939-12-01
Cassini Lawyer
Demands Jury
Find Trio Guilty
Judge Decides All
Or None Be Deemed :
Liable to Punishment
By ALFRED TOOMBS,
Star STAFF Correspondent. .


WARRENTON, Va, Dec. L.
Punishment for three participants
In the tar and feathering of Igor
Cassini, Washington gossip column
list, was demanded today as the jury
heard closing arguments in the case.
Charles Henry Smith of Alex
andria, Mr.. Cassinis attorney and
special assistant to the prosecutor
In the case, demanded that the three
defendants be found guilty of a ser
ious assault upon the columnist.
Mr.. Smith began his argument
shortly after noon, after court pro-
ceedings had been held up for two
hours while counsel argued before
Circuit Judge j. r. H. Alexander
over instructions to be given the
jury. An agreement was finally
reached, and the judge informed
the jury that it must find all or none
of the defendants guilty-thus max
ing it impossible to fix full blame
for the occurrence on Ian Mont
gomery, 80, who assumed full re-
sponsibility when testifying yester-
day.
Must Show Group Intent.
The Judge told the jury that the
charge on which the three men-
Mr.. Montgomery, his brother, Colin,
%, and Alexander Calvert, 21-are
being tried meant that mob must
have assembled with intent to COM
NIT assault and battery.
He pointed out that Ian had
taken all the blame and that If the
jury believed that the others knew
absolutely nothing of what was to
come when Mr.. Cassini was seized
on the grounds of the Warrenton
Country Club on June Is they must
find all not guilty, although Ian
Montgomery could later be indicted
alone on an assault charge.
However, Mr.. Smith argued that
all three were present when ian
Montgomery committed the initial
assault upon the columnist and
that all went on the ride from the
country club to the wooded spot
where the tar and feathers were
applied with the full knowledge that
more violence was to come.
To Charge Exaggerations.
A.G. Weaver, attorney for the de-
PENDANTS, was scheduled to follow
Mr.. Smith, arguing his case on the
grounds that the injuries inflicted
on Mr.. Cassini have been greatly
exaggerated and that the provoca-
tion-items which had appeared IN
Mr.. Cassini's society column in the
Washington Times-Herald - were
sufficient provocation for such treat
ment.
Then the jury was scheduled to
retire to consider the issue in the
case, which-on the basis of the
evidence outlined yesterday-has
simmered down to whether writing
society gossip column is tar-and-
feather offense in this part of Vir-
ginia.
Court opened at 10 am. today
and-as they did yesterday-crowds
battled outside to get seats, anxious
to be in on the wind-up of case
that has kept the community talking
for six months.
Yesterdays last WitnesS-a nat
tily dressed fox hunter-Stepped
down from the stand, it was appar-
ent that the alleged assault was not
the crux of the issue-but whether
or not Cassini had done enough to
justify what he got.
Montgomery Takes Responsibility.
The defense admitted freely that
Ian Montgomery had participated in
the occurrences of the night of June
Is. Mr.. Montgomery himself came to
the stand and told about it-taking
full responsibility for it, but mini
mizing the seriousness of Mr.. Cas-.
sini's suffering.
He was only doing what "any red
blooded Virginian" would have done,
he testified, to avenge his family's
honor. He claimed that Mr.. Cas-
sini had first Uttered verbally year
ago about his dancing ability, had
followed this by printing mischievous
items about his parents.
These items so enraged and in
furiated him that he felt compelled
to retaliate. Since he is big man
over feet tall and weighing 230
pounds-and since his brother, a for
mer University of Virginia foot
ball player, is also young giant, Mr..
Montgomery said:
1--WE decided it would not be
sporting to give him a thrashing."
Invites witnesses" Along.
So. Mr.. Montgomery said, he
thought up his own scheme to
avenge the family honor. He called