Evening star., 1941-11-08
Congress Is Asked
For Impeachment
OF Judge Davis
BiddIe Requests Action
After Juries Disagree
On Federal Jurist
BY the Associated Press.

Attorney General Biddle asked
Congress today to impeach Federal
Judge J. Warren Davis, retired, of
the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,
whom the Justice Department de-
cided not to try for a third time.
after juries twice failed to agree in
trials on charges of obstructing
justice.
A Federal grand jury at Phila-
delphia indicted Judge Davis and
William Fox, one-time motion
picture magnate, and Morgan S.
Kaufman, Fox's attorney.
Fox pleaded guilty, was sentenced
to year in prison and fined $4,000.
He appealed the sentence and Fed
eral Judge Guy j. Bard held October
81 that, pending disposition OF the
Fox appeal. the Attorney Generals
order to dismiss charges against
Davis and kaufman should be held
in allegiance.
Mr.. Biddle made public letter to
Chairman Summers of the House
Judiciary Committee in which he
outlined the case briefly and said
that the facts seem to me to war
rant the institution of impeach-
ment proceedings against Judge
Davis and I recommend that i'm
peachment proceedings be started
promptly
You are aware, of course, that
Judge Davis is regularly drawing
his salary of $4,000 a year"
Chairman Summers said he would
present the matter to his commit
tee soon, probably next week. Judge
Davis said at Trenton, N. j., that he
had had no notice of the proceed
ings and would not comment.
Judge Davis retired from active
duty on April Is. 1899. He is rs.
Text Of Biddle's Letter.
The text of Mr.. Biddle's letter to
Representative Summers follows:
I am writing you with respect to
Federal Judge j. Warren Davis of
the United States Circuit Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit, now
retired from active service.
Last March the Federal grand
jury for the eastern district of Penn
sylvania returned an indictment
naming Judge Davis, William Fox
and Morgan S. kaufman in a GRIM
lnal conspiracy to obstruct Justice
and defraud the United States (see
section 80 of title 18, U. S. Code)
On March % Fox pleaded guilty and
trial of the remaining defendants
was held in June. The jury dis
agreed. 7 to S, and in a retrail in
August, the jury reached the same
result. In view of these unsuccessful
attempts to convict Judge Davis and
MS co-defendants. I have directed
the entry OF nolle prosequi to the
indictment. I inclose you a copv of
the departments press release refer
ring to this matter.
william Fox testified that he
loaned $4,000 to Judge Davis
through Morgan S. Kaufman in an
e1ort to obtain favorable decisions
IN litigation in which Fox was in
terested, then pending before Judge
Davis court. Davis admitted that
ne wrote the opinions involved un-
der an arrangement by which they
were actually signed by Judge Buff
f1ngton. Burlington and Davis ruled
favorable to Fox, but Judge Thomp-
son dissented. The two decisions.
however, were reversed by the Su-
preme Court of the United States.
Judge Burlington at the time suf-
fered from an almost complete loss
of hearing and defective eyesight
due to his advanced age, which was
"a. This was the asserted reason for
permitting Davis to write the opin-
ions which had been assigned to
Burlington for decision.
THE Government showed that five
81 900 bills were turned over by a
bank teller to Belle Fox, who testi-
fled that she had given the money
to her father, William Fox; the bills
were traced by their serial numbers
to Judge Davis daughter, Mrs. Mary
D. Firestone, and deposited in a bank
(See DAVIS. Page A-6)