Evening star., 1944-10-21
Bar Group Approves
House Move 10 Paw
Courf-Named Counse|
Score in Sedition Trial
Would Be Benefited
BY Pending Resolution
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

Legislation to compensate court.
appointed defense attorneys in Fed
eral criminal cases, including nearly
score tied up In the District
Courts six-month-old sedition trial
was the object of plans set in mo-
tion today by District Bar As
sociation committee.
The committee, at a meeting in
the District Court Building yester-
day, approved in principle a pend
ing House bill providing pay OF
not less than $25 a court day for
each counsel appointed in a United
States District Court.
Details to Be Worked Out.
Details of the legislation and
means of working for its adoption
were left to subcommittee to be
named by the chairman, Charles
e. Ford.
During the discussion, the sedi-
ton case was held up as an ex-
ample of the sacrifices which a
court-appointed lawyer could be re-
quired to make. While the resolu-
ton indorsed in principle contained
no retroactive clause, Mr. Ford in
dicated it was planned to include
the attorneys in the mass trial in
whatever form of relief the bar as
sociation decided finally to back
He said it was planned eventually
to ask the support of the American
Bar Association and of State bar
associations in this general legisla-
tion..
Justice James M. Proctor ex-
planned provisions of the pending
measure, which was introduced last
February by Representative Mag
nuson, Democrat, of Washington,
and is before the House Judiciary
Committee. He told the commit
tee that, while it had been the
practice in District Court to appoint
defense counsel partly from a pool
of available volunteers, this had not
been possible entirely, because there
were not always enough of those
attorneys to fill the need.
Carmody Favors Action.
John j. Carmody, District Bar
Association president. said some
thing should be done for the at
torneys in the sedition case. He also
felt the need for general legislation.
jeff Busby, former Representative
from Mississippi, said one thing for
Congress to consider was that people
were brought to Washington from
all over the country to be tried.
This was a heavy burden on the
District, which had nothing to do
with these cases, he pointed out. 1t
was essential. he added, for an ac-
cused person to have a defense, and
the Government had no right to say
to lawyers, you've got to work for
nothing"
Jean Boardman said he had VOL
unteered to serve when needed, and
he was willing to give up several
weeks each year in this work, and
he felt it was proper for attorneys
to give this service and show they
were not entirely mercenary. But
the so-called sedition trial, claiming
many months, presented problem
which could not be resolved, he
added.
Latimer Discusses Issue.
The situation was discussed brief
ly by j. Austin Latimer, one of the
defense attorneys in the sedition
case. He also emphasized that many
cases were tried here which had no
application to the District, but were
imposed arbitrarily on a court al
ready crowded with local cases.
Roger Robb, secretary of the COM
mittee, suggested that appointed at
torneys should be paid their reason
able expenses in preparing GRIM
inal case. Sometimes, he pointed
out. these were heavy and, under
the present law, had to come out
of their pockets or else defendants
lacked adequate defense.