Evening star., 1944-05-16

Mr. Hogan was pre-eminently a
courtroom lawyer" rather than an
office lawyer" His sparkling wit
and prodigious memory have made
him legend among the men of his
profession who delight in recalling
stories of his legal coups and sallies.
One story centers around Mr..
Hogan's appearance in the Riggs
National Bank case. His opposing
counsel was the then nationally
known Samuel Untermeyer.
AS Mr.. Hogan made strong point
in his argument before the court,
he noticed that Mr.. Untermeyer
was shaking his head in negation.
Notwithstanding Mr.. Inter
meyers headshaking," Mr.. Hogan
resumed -.
Il didn't shake my head Mr..
Untermeyer declared. Even If I
had, you couldn't have seen me.
You had your back to me-"
But I distinctly heard the rat
tle," Mr.. Hogan shot back.
Mr.. Hogan had friends in all
walks of life.
Court attendants and lawyers had
a good laugh during the Doheny
trial when Mr.. Hogan and Owen j.
Roberts, the Governments attor-
ney who later was to sit on the Su-
preme Court bench, were examin-
ing prospective jurors. A colored
man, one of the panel, was being
examined by Mr. Roberts.
do you know any of the coun-
SELF" Mr.. Roberts asked.
II know Mr.. Hogan" the colored
man replied.
HAS he been your counsel2"
II don't understand"
HAS he ever represented you IN
court?"
"oh, no, I just know him So
cially."
Mr.. Hogan had a Photographic
memory for names, dates and legal
citations that often astounded his
colleagues.
Many years ago he appeared as
counsel in a case involving the
will of the late Stillson Hutchins,
who left large fortune. The point
at issue was Mr. Hutchins' sanity at
the time the will was written. The
trial lasted for weeks and 1000
pages Of testimony were taken from
a long list Of witnesses.
Amazed Opposing Counsel.
Among the last witnesses was an
alienist who had not heard any of
the previous testimony.
In question to the alienist
which he required three hours to
prepound and which reviewed the
entire previous testimony, Mr.. Ho-
gan cited, without notes, all the
pertinent statements made to the
court. Other counsel were amazed,
but check Of the stenographic re-
ports failed to reveal single error
in Mr.. Hogan's recital from mem
ory.
His phenomenal memory gave
him sureness of speech, according
to his colleagues. which left deep
impression on juries.
Mr.. Hogan was extraordinarily
successful in cases involving wills, a
subject which he taught in George
town Law School for decade. He
had the unusual distinction of never
having lost a case involving a will,
whether he was defending or attack
ing its validity. ''s" +'I'1'' '+'
His profession honored him richly
for his success in his chosen field.
In 1901 he served as president
Of the Lawyers Club of the District;
In 1923 he was made president of
the District Bar Association, and in
1889 he achieved the top legal
distinction of being president of the
American Bar Association.
Honored by Georgetown U.
His alma mater, Georgetown Uni
versity, honored him not only with
place on its faculty from 1908 to
1918, but also with an Ill. D. degree
conferred in 1925. He also served
a term as president of the George
town University Alumni Association
and always took an active interest
in the law school.
In politics, Mr.. Hogan was a Re-
publican and served as a delegate
to the party conventions in 1916 and
1920. His keen admiration for Theo-
dore Roosevelt led him to join the
Bull Moose movement in 1912, his
sole departure from the COP
standard.
He was Roman Catholic in re-
ligion and in 1881, during visit to
the Holy Land, was awarded the
Equestrian Order Of the Holy Sepul-
chre during special services in
Jerusalem.
In his social outlook, Mr.. Hogan
was a warm defender of individual
liberty under the Bill of Rights, and
during his term as head of the
American Bar Association frequently
attacked what he saw as a trend
toward infringement upon such
rights by the present administration.
In speech before the ABA
shortly after his election to the
presidency, he declared:
violations of the Bill of Rights
are intolerable, no matter whom
they affect and whether they be
committed by the Mayor of an
American city, committee of the
United States Senate, an admins
trative tribunal, a governmental de-
partment or an official, drunk with
power, contemptuous of constitu-
tional limitations and reckless of
the rights of Others"
One interest alone competed with
MI. Hogan's devotion to law-his
library, regarded as one of the finest
private collections of manuscripts
and rare editions in America.
The library INCLUDES, among other
treasures, all Shakespeare plays in
quartos-the early editions printed
shortly after the bard's death. Some
years ago Mr.. Hogan commissioned
DR.. A. S. w. Rosenbach to 90 to