Evening star., 1944-05-16
Jury in Sedition
Trial Sworn In;
Defendant Sues
Koehne, Roege, Burns
Named by EImhurst
In $l00, 900 Action
Picture ON Page AL
By CARTER BROOKE JON

Picture ON Page AL
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.
With a jury of 2 women and
10 men sworn in before Chief
Justice Edward C. Eicher in Dis
trict Court today to decide the
mass sedition case, the trial
bristled with side issue which
overshadowed' in general inter-
est the main procedure.
One of the 20 defendants sued his
attorney and the two prosecutors
for $100, 900 on charges of conspiring
against him, while another of the
accused filed motion asking a
mental examination of three fellow
defendants.
With the trial jury selected short
ly after III am, the process of
naming two alternate jurors started.
The Governments opening, state
ment was expected to be made by
Chief Prosecutor o. John Rogge this
afternoon.
Shortly before selection Of ths
jury, Ernest F. Elmhurst, one of the
20 defendants, filed suit for 100000
against his attorney, Ira Chase
Koehne, and the Government prose.
cutors in the sedition case, Mr.,
Rogge and Joseph w. Burns. Elm.
hurst charged that Mr.. Koehne be-
trayed his trust" at the urging of ths
prosecutors and attempted to aid
them at the contempt proceeding
against another defense attorney,
James ]. Laughlin.
The other defendant, Lawrence
Dennis, filed with the clerk of the
court motion for a mental exami-
nation of three of his fellow defend
ants-Prescott F. bennett, Edward
James Smythe and Lois de Lafay-
cite Washburn.
Dennis Defending Himself.
Dennis, New York publisher of the
Weekly Foreign Letter and author
Of "The Dynamics of War and Revo-
luton" is defending himself.
In support of his motion. Dennis
cited that bennett, a private in the
Army, was brought from the psy-
chopathic ward at Walter Reed
Hospital, where he was under obser.
vation, to the sedition trial.
Dennis pointed cut that Chief
Justice Edward c. Eicher, presid-
ing at the trial, had said in open
court that Snythe was mentally
incompetent" to dismiss his counsel.
The demeanor Of Mrs. Washburn
in the courtroom was cited and the
alleged fact that she gave press
photographers the Nazi salute.
| Dennis also submitted q motion
to sever his case from that of the
other defendants.
1 Motions Under Amusement.
Justice Eicher said he would hold
Dennis two motions under advise
ment and take them up at the
proper time.
MIR. Koehne has represented three
defendants in addition to Elm
hurst-Mrs. Washburn, Howard ".
Broenstrupp and Frank w. Clark.
During the Laughlin contempt
hearing before Justice Jennings
Bailey, Mr.. Koehne tried to inter-
vene in behalf of the Government,
but was denied permission by the
court. Testifying at the proceed
ing, Mr.. Koehne explained that he
had felt all the defense attorneys
had been "besmirched" by the
charges which Mr.. Laughlin filed
against Justice Eicher in an affi-
davit signed by Smythe.
Elmhurst'S complaint cited q
question which Mr.. Laughlin asked
Mr.. Koehne on the witness stand.
Mr.. Koehne was asked If he was not
approached in the courtroom by
Prosecutor Burns, who assertedly
said: "Mr. Rogge and envision the
time you will be seated with us at
the table of the prosecution, you
to work with us in the prosecution
of the other defendants" Mr..
Koehne denied the remark was
made in that form.
Mr.. Laughlin was found guilty OF
contempt and fined $3.50. He has
appealed.
Elmhurst tried to speak after the
trial started today, presumably to
ask permission to dismiss his attor-
ney, but the court refused to hear
him at that time.
A hands-off policy toward the
sedition trial was adopted last night
at a special meeting of the District
Bar Association at the Mayflower
Hotel. Despite the demand of more
than score of members that way
be found to compensate court-ap-
pointed defense attorneys, and per-
haps other measures taken, the as
sociation voted, l44 to 10, to ''go on
record as taking no cognizance" of
the case. "Details on page A-4D
A side issue of the trial heard by
Justice Eicher after adjournment
yesterday was evidence offered in
support of a charge by Robert Noble
that he had been hampered in pre-
pairing his defense by delays in his
mail between the District Jail and
the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Bennett Is Called.
Mobiles attorney, Mr.. Laughlin,
called James V. Bennett, director of
the Bureau of Prisons. Mr.. Ben
nett said that ordinarily correspond
ence of prisoners was restricted to
an approved list, usually of rela-
tives only, but in Mobiles case this
had not been rigidly enforced. All
| such mail is reviewed, even letters
between attorneys and defendants,
he admitted.
Mr.. Bennett recalled that four Of
Mobiles letters had been refused de-
livery and returned to the defend
ant. He recalled two of these. One
was addressed to Col Robert M. Nc
Cormick, publisher of the Chicago
Tribune, the other to former Sena-
tor Rush Holt of West Virginia.
Neither was on Mobiles approved
! list, the witness said.
Justice Eicher held that most Of
the testimony offered by Mr.. Laugh
lin at this and previous hearing
had concerned alleged interference
with Mobiles mail since the Begin
ming of the trial when he had been
reDreSented nv very able counsel ="